Broadcast band
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Broadcast band commonly refers to several segments of the radio spectrum. In the U.S. the major broadcast bands are:
| Common Name | Frequencies | Modulation | Band | Notes |
| "FM" | 88 to 108 MHz | Frequency Modulation (FM) | Very High Frequency (VHF) | Usually music, due to the clarity and high bandwidth of FM. Relatively short range. |
| "AM" | 535 to 1700 kHz | Amplitude Modulation (AM) | Medium Frequency (MF) | Usually speech and news, where a lower bandwidth will suffice. Long range at night due to the ionosphere lowering in altitude. |
| "Shortwave" | 5.9 to 26.1 MHz | Mostly AM and single-sideband (SSB) modes. | High Frequency (HF) | Very long range through "skipping". Standard time frequencies can be heard here. |
| "Broadcast Television" | 54 to 88, 174 to 216, and 470 to 806 MHz | vestigial sideband modulation for analog video, and FM for analog audio; 8-VSB or OFDM for digital broadcast | VHF and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) | Channels 2 through 6 are from 54 to 88 MHz. Channels 7 through 13 are from 174 to 216 MHz. Channels 14 through 69 are from 470 to 806 MHz. |
In Europe, North Africa and Asia, longwave radio frequencies between 153 and 281 kHz are used for domestic and international broadcasting.
