What's in a Name? [MicroBusiness

Abstract

For the last 25 years, my main technical focus has been RF semiconductors for mobile phones. In the mid-1990s, we were concerned with only four frequency bands. We referred to these as cellular, GSM, DCS, and PCS (or, alternatively, as the 850-, 900-, 1,800-, and 1,900-MHz bands). These names were a useful shorthand for specific frequency allocat ions. The numerical names seem more meaningful, but even they are not precise. The 850-MHz band doesn’t even include 850 MHz.