PCS

Webopedia Staff
Last Updated May 24, 2021 7:51 am

Short for personal communications service, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) term used to describe a set of digital cellular technologies being deployed in the U.S. Also referred to as digital cellular, PCS works over CDMA (also called IS-95), GSM, and North American TDMA(also called IS-136) air interfaces. Three of the most important distinguishing features of PCS systems are:

  • They are completely digital
  • They operate at the 1900MHzfrequency range (unlike other cellular systems that operate in the 800MHz frequency range)
  • They can be used internationally

PCS is a second-generation mobile communications technology.