This page is a condensed excerpt from the cellular signal reference issued to students in Yankee Actual's EW operations training programs. The complete reference covers 2G through 5G NR, cellular IoT, and satellite direct-to-device with bands, bandwidths, duplexing, waveforms, and power classes.
| System / Examples | Category | Band / Frequency | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Representative Emitter Classes — Sample Only | |||
GSM / EDGE 2G burst TDMA |
2G | 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz | Characteristic 217 Hz burst envelope; still common worldwide |
UMTS / HSPA 3G WCDMA |
3G | 5 MHz carriers | Legacy CDMA layer, retired in the US but active globally |
LTE FDD / TDD 4G workhorse |
4G | 600 MHz – 2.6 GHz | PSS/SSS sync and persistent pilot combs — the dominant network layer |
5G NR FR1 / FR2 Sub-6 and mmWave |
5G | 600 MHz – 40 GHz | Massive-MIMO beamformed SSB sweeps; DSS sharing with LTE |
Cellular IoT LTE-M · NB-IoT · RedCap |
IOT | In-band / 180 kHz | Narrowband hopping and single-tone uplinks inside host carriers |
Satellite direct-to-device Starlink DTC · AST · NTN |
SAT | PCS / MSS bands | LTE/NR from orbit — weak carriers with no terrestrial neighbors |
