Do you need a C-band phone?

 

 Support C-band

For a phone to support the US C-band, it needs three things: its hardware must support it, it must be approved by the FCC to work on it, and it must have the right software. The latter has caused some delays, for example in Verizon's Pixel 6. Pixel 6 has hardware and FCC certification, but C-band support is delayed for a short time due to missing firmware. (This has now been fixed.)

AT&T's C-band list is similar, but there is an additional addition, as not all AT&T C-band phones support 3.45 GHz. Currently, the only phones we know of that will support the new 3.45GHz for AT&T are the Samsung Galaxy S22 series and the Google Pixel 6a, but AT&T has promised more details on that later this year. The iPhone 14 series will be the first 3.45GHz iPhones.

 

Do you need a C-band phone?

Now, deciding whether you need a c band phone comes down to trying to figure out if your carrier will launch a C-band network before you get a new phone. • AT&T users should think about their current data usage. Hopefully, the C band isn't too fast. If you're disappointed with your AT&T performance, get a phone compatible with the upcoming 3.45 GHz network. For now this list is limited, so wait for a better list. • Verizon launches into C-band If you live in one of the carrier's C-band markets and data performance is important to you, you should get a C-band phone. • T-Mobile does not have C-band airwaves until 2024. T-Mobile users should not worry about C-band only. • US Cellular is in the same boat as T-Mobile.

We'll be monitoring C-band development and let you know if it's available on every phone we review, so make sure you buy a model that supports the wave you want to use.