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Which frequency? Systems and bands in the US, Canada, Mexico and abroad

An antenna is built for a frequency range, so the first question is always: what frequency does your system use? The answer depends on the system and on the country.

Three regions, three rulebooks

The ITU divides the world into three regions for frequency planning. The Americas are Region 2; Europe, Africa and the Middle East are Region 1.[1] That is why a radio or gateway built for Europe often uses different frequencies from one built for the US. For example, the 902–928 MHz industrial band (ISM) exists only in Region 2; 2400–2500 MHz and 5725–5875 MHz are ISM bands worldwide.[2]

The common systems, side by side

This table lists the frequencies each system uses, as the regulators and standards bodies publish them. Licensed systems use only the channels on their license, inside these ranges.

SystemUS (and Canada where noted)MexicoEurope
Two-way radio, VHF (land mobile)150–174 MHz[3, 4, 5, 6]——
Two-way radio, UHF (land mobile)450–470 MHz[3, 6, 7]450–470 MHz[8]446–446.2 MHz (PMR446)[9]
Public safety 380–400 MHz (TETRA in Europe)—380–399.9 MHz[8]380–385 / 390–395 MHz[10]
220 MHz land mobile220–222 MHz[11]——
700 MHz public safety and FirstNet (Band 14)758–775 / 788–805 MHz[12, 13, 14]——
800 MHz trunked radio and public safety806–824 / 851–869 MHz[15]806–814 / 851–859 MHz[8]—
4.9 GHz public safety4940–4990 MHz[16]4.94–4.99 GHz[8]—
SCADA / telemetry, licensed 928/952 MHz (MAS)928.0–928.85 / 952.0–952.85 MHz, plus 956.25–956.45 MHz[17, 18]928.00625–928.8375 / 952.00625–952.8375 MHz and 953.0–956.1 / 956.6–959.7 MHz[8]—
900 MHz unlicensed (ISM) radios902–928 MHz (US, Canada, Mexico)[8, 19, 20]902–928 MHz (US, Canada, Mexico)[8, 19, 20]863–870 MHz[9]
LoRa / LoRaWAN902–928 MHz (uplink 902.3–914.9 MHz, downlink 923.3–927.5 MHz) (US, Canada, Mexico (US915))[19, 21]902–928 MHz (uplink 902.3–914.9 MHz, downlink 923.3–927.5 MHz) (US, Canada, Mexico (US915))[19, 21]868.1 / 868.3 / 868.5 MHz default channels (Europe (EU868))[9, 21]
Paging152.24 / 152.84 / 158.10 / 158.70 MHz; 929–930 MHz; 931.0125–931.9875 MHz[22, 23]——
Cellular modems and routers (LTE / 5G)Bands 71 (600), 12/13/14/17 (700), 5 (850), 2 (1900), 4/66 (AWS), 41 (2.5 GHz), 48 (CBRS), 3.7 GHz (n77)[13, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28]700 MHz = Band 28 (703–748 / 758–803 MHz); 2500–2690 MHz[8, 13]700 MHz (703–733 / 758–788), 800 MHz Band 20 (791–821 / 832–862), 3.4–3.8 GHz (n78)[13, 29, 30, 31]
CBRS / private LTE (US)3550–3700 MHz[13, 28]——
EBS / BRS 2.5 GHz (formerly ITFS)2496–2690 MHz[13, 18, 25, 32]2500–2690 MHz[8]—
GPS / GNSSGPS L1 1575.42, L2 1227.60, L5 1176.45 MHz; Galileo E1 1575.42, E5a 1176.45, E5b 1207.14, E6 1278.75 MHz; BeiDou B1I 1561.098 MHz; GLONASS channels at 1602 MHz + k × 0.5625 MHz (L1) and 1246 MHz + k × 0.4375 MHz (L2) (Worldwide)[33, 34, 35, 36]——
Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth / BLE2400–2483.5 MHz (US, Canada, Mexico)[8, 19, 20]2400–2483.5 MHz (US, Canada, Mexico)[8, 19, 20]2400–2483.5 MHz[9]
Wi-Fi 5 GHz5.15–5.35, 5.47–5.725, 5.725–5.85, 5.85–5.895 GHz[37]—5150–5350 and 5470–5725 MHz[9]
Wi-Fi 6 GHz5.925–7.125 GHz[37]—5945–6425 MHz[38]
Point-to-point microwave links5725–5850 MHz (US, Canada, Mexico (unlicensed))[8, 19, 20, 37]
6, 11, 18 and 23 GHz bands (e.g. 5925–6425, 10700–11700, 21200–23600 MHz) (US (licensed, Part 101))[17, 18]		5725–5850 MHz (US, Canada, Mexico (unlicensed))[8, 19, 20, 37]—
Marine VHF and AISChannel 16 156.800 MHz; AIS 161.975 and 162.025 MHz[39]——
Aviation VHF and ADS-BVoice from 118.000 MHz (121.500 MHz emergency); ADS-B 1090 MHz and UAT 978 MHz[40, 41]—117.975–137 MHz[42]
FM and DAB radio receptionFM 88–108 MHz (HD Radio shares the FM channel)[43, 44]—DAB 174–240 MHz (Band III); the FM band starts at 87.5 MHz[42]

Each row's sources are listed in the antenna finder, which also shows the CompleTech antennas that cover each band.

What changes from country to country

  • 900 MHz. The US, Canada and Mexico use 902–928 MHz for unlicensed radios and LoRa (US915).[8, 19, 20, 21] Europe uses 863–870 MHz (EU868), with power counted in mW e.r.p. and limits on how often a device may transmit.[9, 21] A gateway labeled EU868 is the wrong one for the Americas.
  • 2.4 GHz. Same band everywhere, different power. In the US a 2.4 GHz radio may put out 1 W with an antenna up to 6 dBi;[19] in Europe wideband data is limited to 100 mW e.i.r.p.[9]
  • 700 MHz cellular. "700 MHz" means different things: the US uses LTE Bands 12, 13, 14 and 17;[12, 13, 25] Mexico and Europe use the Band 28 plan (703–748 / 758–803 MHz in Mexico,[8, 13] 703–733 / 758–788 MHz in Europe[29]).
  • 800 MHz cellular. Europe's Band 20 (791–821 / 832–862 MHz)[13, 30] is upside down compared with US cellular Band 5 (824–849 / 869–894 MHz)[13, 26]: the base stations transmit in the lower block.
  • 380–400 MHz. Mexico uses 380–399.9 MHz for national public-safety services;[8] Europe's public-safety radio (TETRA) uses 380–385 / 390–395 MHz.[10]
  • SCADA at 928/952 MHz. In the US these are Part 101 Multiple Address System channels licensed site by site;[17] Mexico lists its own 928/952/953–959 MHz segments for telemetry and telecommand.[8]

Licensed or unlicensed?

In the US, radio stations need an FCC license unless the rules exempt them.[6] Two-way radio on VHF and UHF (Part 90) is licensed, and since 2013 must use channels of 12.5 kHz or less unless the equipment meets the FCC's efficiency standard.[3, 5] Unlicensed radios (Part 15: 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz) need no license but have power limits that depend on the antenna,[19] which matters when you choose one:

The 6 dBi rule. US unlicensed power limits assume an antenna gain of 6 dBi or less. With a higher-gain antenna, the radio's power must be turned down by the same number of dB.[19] Example: a 9 dBi antenna on a 900 MHz Part 15 radio means turning the radio down 3 dB.[19] Fixed point-to-point links get relief: at 2.4 GHz the radio drops only 1 dB for every 3 dB above 6 dBi, and at 5.725–5.85 GHz no reduction is needed.[19] Point-multipoint and omni systems don't qualify.[19]

Gross Automation sells antennas; we don't give licensing advice beyond this: if your system is licensed, the license lists your frequencies, and that is the range your antenna must cover.

Canada

Canada's rules for unlicensed 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz radios (ISED RSS-247) allow 1 W conducted and 4 W e.i.r.p.,[20] the same result as the US 6 dBi rule.[19] LoRa in Canada and Mexico uses the US915 plan.[21] For licensed Canadian bands, use the frequencies on your ISED license; we confirm them with you before we quote.

CompleTech parts for this

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Sources

  1. 47 CFR 2.104
  2. 47 CFR 2.106
  3. 47 CFR 90.203
  4. 47 CFR 90.20
  5. 47 CFR 90.209
  6. 47 CFR 1.903
  7. 47 CFR 90.35
  8. Mexico CNAF (DOF 10 Sep 2024)
  9. ERC Recommendation 70-03 (June 2026)
  10. ECC/DEC/(08)05
  11. 47 CFR 90.715
  12. 47 CFR 90.531
  13. 3GPP TS 36.101 (ETSI TS 136 101 V19.6.0), Table 5.5-1
  14. 47 U.S.C. 1421
  15. 47 CFR 90.613
  16. 47 CFR 90.1203
  17. 47 CFR 101.147
  18. 47 CFR 101.101
  19. 47 CFR 15.247
  20. ISED RSS-247 Issue 4
  21. LoRa Alliance RP002-1.0.4 Regional Parameters
  22. 47 CFR 22.531
  23. 47 CFR 90.494
  24. 3GPP TS 38.101-1 (ETSI TS 138 101-1 V19.7.0), Table 5.2-1
  25. 47 CFR 27.5
  26. 47 CFR 22.905
  27. 47 CFR 24.229
  28. 47 CFR 96.11
  29. ECC/DEC/(15)01
  30. ECC/DEC/(09)03
  31. ECC/DEC/(11)06
  32. 47 CFR 27.4
  33. GPS SPS Performance Standard (2020)
  34. Galileo OS SIS ICD v2.1, Table 2
  35. BeiDou ICDs (B1I, B1C, B2a)
  36. GLONASS ICD, Edition 5.1 (2008)
  37. 47 CFR 15.407
  38. ECC/DEC/(20)01
  39. USCG NAVCEN: U.S. VHF channel information
  40. 47 CFR 87.173
  41. 14 CFR 91.225
  42. ERC Report 25 (European Common Allocation table)
  43. 47 CFR 73.201
  44. 47 CFR 73.402