One more significant chapter has been opened in the history of the development of mobile telecommunications in Georgia. From September 1999, for the first time in Georgia, MAGTICOM Ltd. started operating on the 1800 MHz frequency in addition to 900 MHz.

Mobile phone users are perhaps well familiar with the situation during peak hours when it can be difficult to make calls due to the overloaded network. The reason for the congested network is the limited number of interconnecting channels in compactly populated areas. To increase the number of operating channels, some operators install additional base stations, but their number is also limited, as this may cause frequency interference, in its turn resulting in poor quality service.
In Europe, soon after the introduction of the 900 MHz network, the operators realized that even the capacities of GSM 900 were not sufficient for modern cities, where the density of the population can be quite high. For this reason it was decided to solve the problem of overloaded networks in densely populated areas by the commercial utilization of 1800 MHz frequency in parallel with 900 MHz. January 1991 is considered the official starting date of GSM 1800. DCS 1800 was the original name for this standard, but due to the fact that it was developed on the basis of the GSM standard and had a number of similarities with it, DCS 1800 was renamed GSM 1800. Though the system is comparatively new, it is already widespread throughout Europe and today no one doubts that GSM 1800 is one of the best solutions to network overloading in large cities.

The strongest interest in GSM 1800 has been expressed by GSM 900 operators, who are installing
1800 MHz networks in parallel with 900 MHz ones, allowing them to increase the capacity of their systems at minimal cost. In 1996 10 operators in 7 countries were already operating on 1800 MHz, and by 1999 this number increased to 61. A promising future for this system is also evidenced by the fact that in 1998 the European Commission instructed all members of the European Union to issue at least one license to operate on 1800 MHz frequency.

To our customers, the introduction of GSM 1800 in Georgia by MAGTICOM might not seem much. Yet it points to several significant achievements. MAGTICOM is the second GSM operator in the country. It started functioning six months later than Geocell, the first GSM company in Georgia, and several years later than MegaCom, operating on the AMPS standard. Despite this disadvantage, the high pace of the company growth and its desire to provide subscribers with world class services played a major role in MAGTICOM’s becoming the first company in Georgia to introduce a dual band system to its customers. As a first stage, 1800 MHz frequency stations have been installed in the central parts of Tbilisi, where traffic is most heavy: on Republic Square, in Vake and Saburtalo. Further installations are planned in other parts of Tbilisi as well as different regions of Georgia.

How the dual band handset operates

The subscriber who has a dual-band phone in the coverage area of a dual-frequency base station may use either 900 or 1800 MHz frequencies. The customer does not notice when the switch from one frequency to another takes place. Initially, a dual band handset looks for an available channel on the 1800 MHz band and only if all the channels are busy does it switch to the 900 MHz frequency channels. The additional frequency is also favourable for owners of the 900 MHz handsets, because in this case channels from this frequency band are freed and they can be used by owners of single-band phones.

Dual band handsets

To take advantage of the opportunities provided by the 900/1800 MHz system, a dual band handset is necessary. Today there is a wide choice of such phones on the market, for manufacturers saw the opportunities offered by the 900/1800 MHz network and actively became engaged in the production of adequate phones. If in the beginning only a few companies specialized in dual band models, today almost all well-known and less-known companies are manufacturing such phones. At present the following dual band phones are available on the Georgian market:
Nokia 6150, Ericsson A1018s, Nokia 3210, Ericsson I888, Nokia 7110, Ericsson T18,
Motorola 8900, Siemens c25, Motorola CD930, Siemens s25, Motorola V3688, Panasonic CD70, Motorola L7089, Panasonic CD90

Of course this list is incomplete and it is quickly expanding. A great majority of new models are
dual band phones. If after reading this article you decide that a dual band phone is what you need and decide to buy one, make sure that the phone has the label GSM 900/1800 or Dual Band, meaning that the set can use 2 frequencies. Also please consider that until the wide-scale expansion of the GSM 1800 network, the purchase of phone-sets which work only on the 1800 MHz frequency (e.g. the Nokia 6150) is not advisable, for the coverage of this network is limited to only those regions where 1800 MHz base stations have been constructed.

One more point: In addition to GSM 1800, there is also another new GSM 1900 standard which is used on the American Continent. Yet a phone-set designed for 1900 MHz cannot be used in MAGTICOM network. However, in August 1999 Motorola produced the first multi-band phone, Motorola L 7089, working on the three - 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz frequencies. The owners of such handsets can use them in MAGTICOM network as well as while travelling in Europe and America.

When purchasing a new mobile phone, please consider that in order to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by MAGTICOM dual band network, you need a dual band 900/1800 MHz mobile phone.
 

Levan Buchukuri
Head of the
Customer Care
and Marketing Department
MAGTICOM