View source for Personal Communications Service

{{Short description|Type of cellular mobile phone service}}
{{About|the digital cellular mobile phone service type|the [[North American Numbering Plan]] 5XX area codes|Personal communications service (NANP)}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2021}}{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
A '''personal communications service''' ('''PCS''') is set of communications capabilities that provide a combination of terminal mobility, [[personal mobility]], and service profile management.{{Sfn|Institute for Telecommunication Sciences|2011}}  This class of services comprises several types of wireless voice or wireless data communications systems, typically incorporating digital technology, providing services similar to advanced [[Cellular network|cellular]] mobile or [[Pager|paging]] services. In addition, PCS can also be used to provide other wireless communications services, including services that allow people to place and receive communications while away from their home or office, as well as wireless communications to homes, office buildings and other [[Fixed wireless|fixed]] locations.{{Sfn|Federal Communications Commission|2008}}  Described in more commercial terms, PCS is a generation of wireless cellular-phone technology, that combines a range of features and services surpassing those available in analogue- and first-generation ([[2G]]) digital-cellular phone systems, providing a user with an all-in-one wireless phone, paging, messaging, and data service.{{Sfn|Verizon Communications Inc.|2011}}

The [[International Telecommunication Union]] (ITU) describes personal communications services as a component of the [[IMT-2000]] ([[3G]]) standard.  PCS and the IMT-2000 standard of which PCS is a part do not specify a particular [[air interface]] and [[channel access method]].  Wireless service providers may deploy equipment using any of several air interface and channel access methods, as long as the network meets the service description for [[technical standard|technical characteristics]] described in the standard.{{Sfn|International Telecommunication Union|1997}}

{{missing information|section|"low band" "midband" terminology in mobile contexts|date=August 2023}}
In [[ITU Region]] 2, PCS are provided in the '1900&nbsp;[[MHz]]' band (specifically 1850–1995&nbsp;MHz).{{Sfn|Cellular Networking Perspectives Ltd.|2011}}  This frequency band was designated by the United States [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) and [[Industry Canada]] to be used for new wireless services to alleviate capacity caps inherent in the original [[Advanced Mobile Phone System]] (AMPS) and [[Digital AMPS]] (D-AMPS) cellular networks in the '850&nbsp;MHz' band (specifically 814–894&nbsp;MHz).  Only Region 2 has a PCS band.

==PCS network in the United States==
In the United States, [[Sprint Corporation|Sprint PCS]] was the first company to build and operate a PCS network, launching service in November 1995 under the ''Sprint Spectrum'' brand in the [[Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area]].  Sprint originally built the network using [[GSM]] radio interface equipment.  Sprint PCS later selected [[CDMA2000|CDMA]] as the radio interface for its nationwide network, and built a parallel CDMA network in the Baltimore-Washington area, launching service in 1997.  Sprint operated the two networks in parallel until finishing a migration of its area customers to the CDMA network.

After completing the customer migration, Sprint PCS sold{{when|date=August 2022}} the GSM radio interface network equipment to Omnipoint Communications in January 2000.{{Sfn|Cambridge Telecom Report|2000}}  
Omnipoint was later purchased by VoiceStream Wireless{{when|date=August 2022}} which subsequently became [[T-Mobile US]].

In August 2022, T-Mobile US announced [[cellular dead zone|dead-zone]] cell phone coverage across the US using "midband" (1900 MHz) PCS spectrum<ref name="tmus-midband">{{cite web |url=https://www.lightreading.com/5g/t-mobile-is-winning-race-to-100mhz-for-midband-5g/a/d-id/773516 |title=T-Mobile is winning the race to 100MHz for midband 5G |publisher=Light Reading |date=2021-11-15 |access-date=2022-08-25 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602044824/https://www.lightreading.com/5g/t-mobile-is-winning-race-to-100mhz-for-midband-5g/a/d-id/773516 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Starlink]] Gen2 satellite<!-- in [[low-Earth orbit]] --> cell coverage, to begin testing in 2023.  Using this satellite and midband spectrum, T-Mobile plans to be able to connect by satellite to common [[mobile phone|mobile devices]], unlike previous generations of [[satellite phone]]s which used specialized Earth-bound radios to connect to [[Geosynchronous orbit|geosynchronous]] satellites with characteristic long [[Latency (engineering)|lag time]] in communications.<ref name=ars20220825>{{cite news |title=Forget 5G wireless, SpaceX and T-Mobile want to offer Zero-G coverage |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/08/forget-5g-wireless-spacex-and-t-mobile-want-to-offer-zero-g-coverage/ |last=Berger |first=Eric |work=[[Ars Technica]] |date=25 August 2022 |access-date=26 August 2022 |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826034319/https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/08/forget-5g-wireless-spacex-and-t-mobile-want-to-offer-zero-g-coverage/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=sn20220826>{{cite news |title=SpaceX and T-Mobile partner for direct-to-cellphone satellite service |url=https://spacenews.com/spacex-and-t-mobile-partner-for-direct-to-cellphone-satellite-service/ |last=Rainbow |first=Jason |work=[[SpaceNews]] |date=26 August 2022 |access-date=27 August 2022 |archive-date=30 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830014641/https://spacenews.com/spacex-and-t-mobile-partner-for-direct-to-cellphone-satellite-service/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Rest of the world==

ITU Regions 1 and 3 (Eurasia, Africa) does not have a PCS band. The comparable technology in the context of GSM is [[GSM-1800]], also known as "[[Digital Cellular System]]" (DCS).<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Ramsdale |first1=P.A. |last2=Hadden |first2=A.D. |last3=Gaskell |first3=P.S. |title=DCS1800-the standard for PCN | conference=1991 Sixth International Conference on Mobile Radio and Personal Communications |date=December 1991 |pages=175–181 |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/140234}}</ref> GSM-1800 launched in Hong Kong in 1997. It can form [[dual band]] service with GSM at 900MHz. This frequency was [[UMTS frequency bands|inherited into UMTS]], [[LTE frequency bands|LTE]], and [[5G NR frequency bands|5G NR]].

Korea, which has never used GSM, runs CDMA on 1800 MHz. See [[CDMA frequency bands]].

==See also==
* [[Advanced Wireless Services]] – A wireless telecommunications spectrum band
* {{Annotated link|Cellular frequencies}}
* {{Annotated link|PTCRB}}
* {{Annotated link|SOAP}}
* [[Service description (disambiguation)]] – Several service description languages used in computer science

==Notes==
{{Reflist|32em}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://www22.Verizon.com/wholesale/glossary/?l=p|title=Glossary of Telecom Terms: P|year=2011|website=Verizon.com|publisher=[[Verizon Communications Inc]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629194529/http://www22.verizon.com/wholesale/glossary/?l=p|archive-date=29 June 2011|url-status=live|access-date=11 March 2011|quote=Personal Communications Services (PCS) A new generation of wireless-phone technology that introduces a range of features and services surpassing those available in analog- and digital-cellular phone systems. PCS provides the user with an all-in-one wireless phone, paging, messaging, and data service.|ref={{SfnRef|Verizon Communications Inc.|2011}}}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://www.FCC.gov/glossary.html|title=Glossary of Telecommunications Terms|date=15 November 2008|website=www.FCC.gov|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810191634/http://www.FCC.gov/glossary.html|archive-date=10 August 2010|url-status=live|access-date=11 March 2011|quote=PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE (PCS) - Any of several types of wireless, voice and/or data communications systems, typically incorporating digital technology.|ref={{SfnRef|Federal Communications Commission|2008}}}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/|title=PCS|year=2011|website=www.its.bldrdoc.gov|publisher=The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313145352/http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/|archive-date=13 March 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=11 March 2011|quote=PCS: Abbreviation for Personal Communications Service. A set of capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management.|ref={{SfnRef|Institute for Telecommunication Sciences|2011}}}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://www.ITU.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/m/R-REC-M.1224-0-199702-I!!PDF-E.pdf|title=Recommendation ITU-R M.1224 vocabulary of terms for International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) (Question ITU-R 39/8)|date=1 July 1997|website=www.ITU.int|publisher=[[International Telecommunication Union]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722013807/http://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/m/R-REC-M.1224-0-199702-I!!PDF-E.pdf|archive-date=22 July 2011|access-date=11 March 2011|quote=PCS system A collection of facilities which provide some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management.|ref={{SfnRef|International Telecommunication Union|1997}}|url-status=dead}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://FindArticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BFP/is_2000_Jan_3/ai_58463612/|title=Sprint sells GSM wireless network infrastructure in Washington/Baltimore area to Omnipoint after upgrading customers to newer CDMA system - Company Business and Marketing|date=3 January 2000|website=Cambridge Telecom Report|publisher=CBS Interactive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611003213/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BFP/is_2000_Jan_3/ai_58463612/|archive-date=11 June 2009|url-status=dead|access-date=11 March 2011|quote=An affiliate of Sprint launched the GSM system in Washington/Baltimore, the nation's first PCS network, in November 1995.|ref={{SfnRef|Cambridge Telecom Report|2000}}}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://www.CNP-Wireless.com/glossary.html#p|title=Wireless, Telecom and Computer Glossary|date=7 October 2010|website=CNP-Wireless.com|publisher=Cellular Networking Perspectives Ltd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316053210/http://www.cnp-wireless.com/glossary.html#p|archive-date=16 March 2011|url-status=live|access-date=11 March 2011|quote=PCS1900 North American PCS frequencies, 1850–1990 MHz|ref={{SfnRef|Cellular Networking Perspectives Ltd.|2011}}}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*[http://Wireless.FCC.gov/services/broadbandpcs/ United States Federal Communications Commission Broadband PCS service description] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030801141735/http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/broadbandpcs/ |date=1 August 2003 }}

{{Federal Communications Commission}}
{{Cellular network standards}}
{{Telecommunications}}

[[Category:Mobile technology]]