Personal communications network (PCN) is the European digital cellular mobile telephone network. The underlying standard is known as Digital Cellular System, which defines a variant of
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...
operating at 1.7–1.88 GHz.
GSM-1800 has since been adopted by other locations, not necessarily under the PCN/DCS name. The network structure, the signal structure and the transmission characteristics are similar between PCN and GSM-900.
The PCN system was first initiated by
Lord Young,
UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, in 1988. The main characteristics of PCN are as follows:
# Operating frequency – 1.7–1.88 GHz (1710–1785 MHz and 1805–1880 MHz).
# Uses 30 GHz or up for microwave back bone system.
# Covers both small cells and large cells.
# Coverage inside and outside buildings.
# Hand over.
# Cell delivery.
# Portable hand set.
# User intelligent network.
The UK government's Department for Enterprise produced
Phones on the Move: Personal Communications in the 1990s - a discussion document in January 1989. The document presented a vision for how mobile communications might develop which outlined ideas for both the PCNs and the CT2 standards.
PCN is comparable to the North American
Personal Communications Service
A personal communications service (PCS) is set of communications capabilities that provide a combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management. This class of services comprises several types of wireless voice o ...
band allocation. The 1800 MHz DCS band is reused in UMTS, LTE and 5G NR; it sees real-world deployment in LTE as "band 3".
External links
Press Notice: LORD YOUNG CALLS FOR APPLICATIONS TO RUN "PHONES ON THE MOVE"
Telephony
Wireless networking
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