USA 5G Band Lookup Tool by Carrier (Plus LTE Equivalents)

📡 If you’ve ever seen “n41” or “n77” in a spec sheet and thought, “Cool… what does that actually mean for coverage?”, this page is for you.

This article is the companion guide to the MOBITEX Band Lookup Tool, presented below which lets you:

• pick a carrier and instantly see the 5G bands they commonly use,
• search by band number (like n71 or n260) to see likely carriers and frequency ranges,
• enter a frequency in MHz (like 3700) to find the most likely 5G band(s),
• and optionally reveal LTE equivalents (like B71) to make device support checks way easier.

✅ What This Tool Helps You Do

Most people get stuck in one of these situations:

• You’re buying a phone and want to know if it supports your carrier’s “real” 5G bands.
• You’re comparing T-Mobile vs Verizon vs AT&T and want to understand why one has better range and another is faster downtown.
• You’re reading a spec sheet, a modem datasheet, or an FCC filing and see frequency blocks like 2496–2690 MHz, but you need the band name.
• You want to relate 5G to LTE, especially when troubleshooting or explaining compatibility.

This tool solves those problems by turning confusing band numbers into something practical:
layer (low/mid/mmWave), frequency range, duplex type, typical use, and LTE equivalents.

🚀 Quick Primer: Low-band vs Mid-band vs mmWave

Think of 5G like three “layers” of coverage.

🟢 Low-band (coverage)

• Travels far, penetrates walls well
• Great for highways, suburbs, rural
• Speeds can be decent but not always “wow”

Typical examples: n71 (600 MHz), n5 (850 MHz), n12 (700 MHz)

🟡 Mid-band (best balance)

• The sweet spot, solid range + strong speed
• Most “real 5G” performance comes from here

Typical examples: n41 (2.5 GHz), n77 (C-band), n48 (CBRS)

🔵 High-band / mmWave (fastest, shortest range)

• Insanely fast, but only works close to the site
• Usually downtown, stadiums, airports, dense areas
• Doesn’t like walls, trees, or distance

Typical examples: n260 (39 GHz), n261 (28 GHz)

🧩 LTE Equivalents: Why They Matter

A lot of hardware still lists LTE bands more clearly than 5G bands.

Example:

• n71 (5G) maps to B71 (LTE)
• n41 maps to B41
• n66 maps to B66

So if you’re trying to answer:

• “Does my phone support T-Mobile’s extended-range 5G?”
• “Does this modem support the same spectrum in LTE fallback?”

…turning on Show LTE equivalents makes that super fast.

🛠️ How to Use the Tool (3 Ways)

1) Carrier → Bands (fastest for most readers)

Use this when you want to understand what a carrier typically uses.

Steps

1. Select a carrier (T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T)
2. Optional: choose a Layer (Low / Mid / High)
3. Type into Search to filter results (try n41, mmwave, 3700, etc.)
4. Toggle Show LTE equivalents if you want the LTE band numbers

Best use cases

• building a “carrier overview” section in your article
• comparing coverage layers between carriers
• quickly listing “most important bands” for buyers

Example
If you pick T-Mobile and filter to Low, you’ll typically see n71, which is a big reason T-Mobile’s 5G reaches farther in many areas.

2) Band → Carriers (great for spec sheets)

Use this when you already know the band and want context.

Steps

1. Click the Band → Carriers tab
2. Type a band like n77 or pick it from the dropdown
3. You’ll see:
   • likely US carrier mapping
   • band layer
   • duplex type
   • frequency range
   • LTE equivalent

Best use cases

• you’re reading a phone/modem datasheet
• you’re making a comparison table
• you want to explain a band in plain English

Example
Type n77 and you’ll see it’s mid-band, used heavily for C-band deployments, and is a key “fast 5G” layer for Verizon and AT&T.

3) Frequency → Band (super useful for engineers)

Use this when you have a frequency and want the most likely band.

Steps

1. Click Frequency → Band
2. Enter a frequency in MHz
   • examples: 2600, 3700, 28000
3. The tool returns likely matching NR bands and common carriers.

Best use cases

• turning raw spectrum ranges into band names
• translating RF test notes into something readers recognize
• mapping “what band is 3.7 GHz?” quickly

Example
Enter 3700 MHz and you’ll typically match n77, because that’s in the broad C-band/3.x GHz mid-band zone.

🔎 How to Read the Results (So They Make Sense)

Each row is designed to answer the questions readers actually have:

• NR Band: the 5G band name (nXX)
• LTE eq.: the closest LTE band mapping (BXX), if available
• Layer: Low / Mid / High
• Duplex:
  • FDD = separate uplink/downlink (common in low-band)
  • TDD = shared time-splitting (common in mid-band and mmWave)
  • SDL = downlink-only supplemental (some capacity bands)
• Approx range: human-friendly frequency block
• What it’s used for: the “why you care” summary

📌 Practical Examples You Can Copy Into Your Article

Example A: Buying a phone for T-Mobile

If your phone supports:

• n71 (coverage) + n41 (speed)

…you’ll typically get the best “real-world” experience on T-Mobile.

Example B: Why Verizon 5G feels inconsistent

Verizon can be:

• extremely fast on n260/n261 (mmWave),
• very strong on n77 (mid-band),
• but mmWave won’t reach far.

So the experience changes a lot by location.

Example C: Troubleshooting “5G icon but slow”

Often you’re on a low-band 5G layer (coverage-first), not mid-band.
Filter the carrier view to Low and you’ll see the likely suspects.

⚠️ Important Notes (Accuracy + Real-World Deployment)

This is a lookup tool, not a guarantee of what’s live on your street.

Real networks can vary by:

• market (city vs rural)
• licensing/holdings
• spectrum refarming
• DSS (dynamic spectrum sharing)
• device support
• carrier upgrade cycles

So treat results as: Commonly used bands and likely matches