Its very carrier dependant for how much gets invested in infrastructure, but in the US carriers seem to be updating frequency bands almost every generation model of phone.

Go look at a few models of the same phone for instance pixel 6 vs 7 vs 8 vs 9. Carriers are phasing out antiquated cellular bands. They try to keep the most widely used bands like n71 or other most common 4 or 5 bands but then tweak or change another 10 bands inside the phone sometimes 20 bands in all.

But I assure you this is the case. Cellular bands change as towers get serviced and replaced.

*source phone repair tech for the past few years.

Because carriers and manufacturers together are trying to find bands that work how we want during life conditions. For instance inside hospitals with multiple floors of concrete we need high frequency bands to keep the speed we want and need for today's uses especially with multiple devices are in the same vicinity. We need the high frequencies to get through barriers and connection quality in dense urban areas. But high frequencies don't travel far.

On top of health laws and regulations.

Lower frequencies travel further but the speeds aren't as fast and any barriers in between the device and tower or transmitter for low frequencies will interfere with objects. Which is why 2g is good for rural areas but it's insecure and antiquated for modern speed and usages like we expect.

*phone repair tech for the last few years.

This meme doesn't really apply to Graphene OS when you can just give the duress password which permanently wipes the phone.

Counterpoint: Yeah, but if ICE kicks in your door would be comforting to know that powering your phone off prevents it from being cellebrighted. GrapheneOS with a supported Pixel device is one of the few smartphones that they can't exploit from BFU.

The federal government isn't using wrenches (yet)

I see the point, but there's a certain dignity in being able to go out with your secrets instead of having some spill them for you without so much as a fight. Unless they whip out the truth serum, idk what I'd do then.