Licensed or Unlicensed?
Countries have different rules for wireless frequencies and who has rights to use them
Licensed
Exclusive rights
Unlicensed
Shared wireless spectrum
Wireless frequencies can be categorized into:
1. Licensed – assigned to operators for exclusive usage, typically offering the greatest reliability and performance.
2. Unlicensed – assigned to everyone for non-exclusive usage, subject to regulatory constraints such as power transmission.
Common Unlicensed Frequencies
| Frequency | Details |
| 2.4GHz | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee. May be congested. |
| 3.5GHz | CBRS: Part licensed; part unlicensed. US government has priority access |
| 5GHz | Wi-Fi (especially 802.11ac): higher speed, lower range. |
| 6GHz | Wi-Fi 6, satellite. Part licensed; part unlicensed. |
Common Licensed Frequencies
| Frequency | Details |
| 600MHz | LTE (Canada, US) |
| 700MHz | LTE, 5G (Americas, Caribbean, Europe, APAC) |
| 800MHz | GSM, LTE, 5G (EMEA) |
| 850MHz | GSM, LTE, 5G (Americas, APAC) |
| 900MHz | GSM, 5G (APAC, EMEA); LTE (Europe, APAC) |
| 1500MHz | LTE (Japan) |
| 1700MHz | LTE (Americas) |
| 1800MHz | GSM, LTE, 5G (APAC, EMEA) |
| 1900MHz | GSM, 5G (Americas) |
| 2100MHz | LTE, 5G (APAC, EMEA) |
| 2.3GHz | 5G |
| 2.5GHz | 5G |
| 2.6GHz | LTE, 5G (Canada, Central & South Americas, Europe, Africa, APAC) |
| 3.5GHz | CBRS: Part licensed; part unlicensed |
| 3.7GHz | C-Band |
| 5.2GHz | 5G |
| 5.9GHz | 5G |
| 6GHz | 5G |
| 26GHz | 5G (Mostly EMEA & US) |
| 28GHz | 5G (Mostly APAC) |
| 39GHz | 5G |
| 41GHz | 5G |
| 47GHz |
5G |