Business band

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VHF or UHF Business Band handheld radio

The business band is the name used by US scanner hobbyists who listen to Federal Communications Commission licensees using Industrial/Business pool frequencies. The regulations listing frequencies in this pool are contained in Subpart C of Part 90, Title 47 CFR.

The pool describes a series of frequencies on the VHF and UHF two-way radio bands. They are reserved for use by businesses, and, although the requirement is sometimes overlooked, in the USA they require a license from the Federal Communications Commission prior to use. The exception to this is five specific frequencies that are now part of the Multi-Use Radio Service, which permits unlicensed operation on these frequencies, provided the output power does not exceed 2 watts.

The electromagnetic spectrum between approximately 450 and 470 MHz is used largely for UHF business communications, although this spectrum is not exclusively for business use. In some large metropolitan areas, such as New York, the UHF-T band (between 470 and 512 MHz) is also used, due to congestion on the standard VHF or UHF bands. There are also a number of specific frequencies, in both the VHF and UHF spectrum, that are for business use; most of these have color-coded names, such as Blue Dot or Red Star.

[edit] Common Business Band Frequencies

VHF Spectrum

Name	Frequency (MHz)	Comments
Blue Dot	154.570	More common; also licensed under MURS
Green Dot	154.600	More common; also licensed under MURS
Red Dot	151.625	Often for itinerant use
Purple Dot	151.955
(None)	154.515
(None)	154.540

UHF Spectrum

Name	Frequency (MHz)	Comments
White Dot	462.575	GMRS channel mistaken for a Business/Industrial frequency because it has a colored dot.
Black Dot	462.625	GMRS channel mistaken for a Business/Industrial frequency because it has a colored dot.
Brown Dot	464.500
Yellow Dot	464.550
Silver Star	467.850
Gold Star	467.875
Red Star	467.900
Blue Star	467.925