The 5G and LTE Band lookup tool 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.
Contents
- 1 📡 5G Band Lookup Tool (US)
- 2 ✅ What This Tool Helps You Do
- 3 🚀 Quick Primer: Low-band vs Mid-band vs mmWave
- 4 🧩 LTE Equivalents: Why They Matter
- 5 🛠️ How to Use the Tool (3 Ways)
- 6 🔎 How to Read the Results (So They Make Sense)
- 7 📌 Practical Examples You Can Copy Into Your Article
- 8 ⚠️ Important Notes (Accuracy + Real-World Deployment)
✅ 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
- Select a carrier (T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T)
- Optional: choose a Layer (Low / Mid / High)
- Type into Search to filter results (try
n41,mmwave,3700, etc.) - 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
- Click the Band → Carriers tab
- Type a band like
n77or pick it from the dropdown - 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
- Click Frequency → Band
- Enter a frequency in MHz
- examples:
2600,3700,28000
- examples:
- 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 match
