📡
Frequency
869 MHz
Frequency
869 MHz
🧭
Range
851–869 MHz
Range
851–869 MHz
🧩
Band Group
UHF (300–1000 MHz)
Band Group
UHF (300–1000 MHz)
🌐 Summary
The 869 MHz allocation is part of the UHF (300–1000 MHz) spectrum. This range is used worldwide for critical applications that keep our communications and infrastructure running smoothly. On this page we highlight how each band is applied in real systems, from regulatory assignments to everyday devices. Our goal is to make spectrum data clear and practical for engineers, regulators, and enthusiasts alike.
Key uses of this band include: 869 MHz: Public Safety and Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) downlink paired with 806–824 MHz uplink; Mobile, Fixed; Narrowband/Trunked LMR downlinks; LTE/NR smartphones, legacy GSM/CDMA devices; home automation mesh (sensors, switches); LPWAN sensors/meters/trackers.
Cellular 850 downlink (3GPP Band 5/26 DL 869–894 MHz); paired with 824–849 MHz uplink.
🔍 Explore the full RF Spectrum database
📡 Band & Geometry key
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Wavelength (m) | 0.345 |
| Waveforms | Analog/digital PMR, P25, TETRA, LTE, 5G NR |
| Antenna Form Factor (Typical) | ¼-wave ≈ 8.63 cm |
| Band Family | LMR/Public Safety |
| Band | 800 MHz Public Safety / SMR — Downlink |
| Primary Common Name | Cellular 850 DL |
| FSPL @ 1 km [dB] | 91.220395528973 |
| FSPL @ 10 km [dB] | 111.22039552897 |
| Fresnel Radius @ 1 km (m) | 9.2898350724428 |
| Band Group | UHF (300–1000 MHz) |
| Tax Band Family | UHF |
| Tax Band Class | 800/850 MHz Cellular & SMR (806–896) Band |
🧩 Applications & Usage
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Primary Application | Public Safety and Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) downlink paired with 806–824 MHz uplink |
| Lower Neighbor Use | No adjacent allocation defined |
| Upper Neighbor Use | Cellular 850 (CLR) — Downlink |
| Typical Services Devices | Narrowband/Trunked LMR downlinks |
| Market Common Devices | LTE/NR smartphones, legacy GSM/CDMA devices |
| Refarming Use | No |
| Device Ecosystem Size | Medium (100–1000 models) |
| Device Hotspots (MHz) | 868.40; 868.1/868.3/868.5 |
| Device Category | Home Automation (Z-Wave); LoRa / LoRaWAN |
| Typical Use Cases | home automation mesh (sensors, switches); LPWAN sensors/meters/trackers |
| Modulation (Device) | GFSK; LoRa (CSS) |
| Channel Width (Device) [kHz] | ~100; 125–500 |
| Device Region Profiles | US: 908–916; EU: 868.4; AU/NZ: ~921; EU: 868; US: 902–928; AU/NZ: 915–928; AS923 variants |
| Per-Region EIRP Or Duty (Device) | EU ≤14 dBm EIRP; US varies by hopping/dwell; EU ≤14 dBm; US up to 30 dBm class (gateway) |
| Allocation Relevance (Device) | ISM/SRD allocations allow low-power HA; ISM LPWAN allocations |
| Adjacent-Band Collision Risks (Device) | 915 MHz congestion with LoRa/Smart meters/RFID; 915 MHz overlaps Z-Wave/RFID/smart meters |
| Example Devices Or Skus | Cellular (2G/3G Legacy Devices) |
| Common Protocols | LoRa (868 MHz); Sigfox (regional); Short-Range Devices (SRD); wM-Bus (868 MHz); LTE; 5G NR; GSM/EDGE; UMTS (legacy); Analog FM (12.5 kHz); DMR; P25 (region); TETRA (region) |
🗒️ Notes
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Receiver Selectivity Notes | – |
| Interference Notes | Adjacent cellular downlinks; filtering needed |
| Compatibility Risk Notes | – |
| Notes | Cellular 850 downlink (3GPP Band 5/26 DL 869–894 MHz); paired with 824–849 MHz uplink. |
| Propagation Notes | Strong coverage, good indoor penetration |
⚙️ Technical Rules
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Lower Band Frequency Limit | 851 |
| Upper Band Frequency Limit | 869 |
| EIRP Indoor Limits | Base DL small cells per license |
| EIRP Outdoor Limits | Base DL EIRP per license (high) |
| PSD Limit | 3GPP BS mask |
| Emission Mask Class | 3GPP Band 5/26 DL |
| Guardband Minimum [kHz] | 100 |
| Typical Bandwidths | 200 kHz–20 MHz |
| Autocalculated Bandlimits | No |
| Typical Bandwidths (Estimated) | 200 kHz–20 MHz |
| Max EIRP [dBm] | EU ≤14 dBm EIRP; US varies by hopping/dwell; EU ≤14 dBm; US up to 30 dBm class (gateway) |
| Power Source Or Duty Profile (Typical) | Mains or coin-cell depending on node; Battery sensors; mains gateways |
| Channelization Plan | 200 kHz–20 MHz |
| Channelization | 25 kHz (legacy); 12.5 kHz narrowband; LTE/NR blocks |
| Guard Band Requirement | – |
| OOB Emission Limit [dBm/MHz] | -13 (baseline) |
| Spurious Emission Limit (dBm) | -30 (baseline) |
| RX Blocking Min [dBm] | -15 (planning) |
| Duplexing | FDD |
| Duplexing Information | FDD DL paired with 824–849 |
| Uplink Pairing | 824–849 MHz (Cellular UL) |
| Downlink Pairing | 869–894 MHz (Cellular DL) |
| Paired Band Info | Band 5/26 (850 Cellular): 824.0-849.0 MHz ↔ 869.0-894.0 MHz |
| Max EIRP [dBm] | – |
| Channelization Block Size | 200 kHz GSM / LTE flexible blocks |
| 3GPP Band Number | |
| Example 3GPP Bands | LTE/NR Band 5 (n5) DL |
| LTE Uplink Bands | – |
| LTE Downlink Bands | Band 5, Band 26 |
| NR Uplink Bands | – |
| NR Downlink Bands | n5, n26 |
| Guard Bands | Guard bands at band edges |
| Protocol Or Standard | Z-Wave / Z-Wave Plus; LoRaWAN |
🌎 Country Overrides
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Tax Service Category | Other / Various |
| Tax License Type | Licensed / Service-Specific |
| Tax Regions | Global / Varies |
| ITU Region 1 (Europe, Africa, Middle East (west of Persian Gulf), Western Russia & Mongolia) | Mobile, Fixed |
| ITU Region 2 (North America, South America, Central America, Caribbean, Greenland, Eastern Pacific Islands (Americas region)) | Mobile, Fixed |
| ITU Region 3 (Asia, Australia, Pacific Islands, Oceania, Indian Subcontinent, East Asia & Southeast Asia) | Mobile, Fixed |
| License Type | Licensed public safety / SMR |
| Primary Application | Public Safety and Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) downlink paired with 806–824 MHz uplink |
| Primary Services | Mobile, Fixed |
| Spurious Emission [dBm] | -30 (baseline) |
| Lower Neighbor Use | No adjacent allocation defined |
| Upper Neighbor Use | Cellular 850 (CLR) — Downlink |
| Licensing Model | Licensed (Public safety / LMR) |
| Typical Services Devices | Narrowband/Trunked LMR downlinks |
| US FCC Alloc | Public Safety / LMR (Downlink)– |
| CA IC Alloc | Public Safety / LMR (Downlink)– |
| UK Ofcom Alloc | LMR (regional)– |
| US Ref | 47 CFR Part 90 (Private Land Mobile) |
| Typical Bandwidths | 200 kHz–20 MHz |
| Market Licensing Model | Auctioned (IMT) |
| Market Common Devices | LTE/NR smartphones, legacy GSM/CDMA devices |
| Fresnel Radius (1st, 1 km) [m] | 9.2898350724428 |
| Typical Bandwidths (Estimated) | 200 kHz–20 MHz |
| Auction Status | – |
| Refarming Use | No |
| Typical Site Spacing km | 2 / 8 |
| Device Ecosystem Size | Medium (100–1000 models) |
| Traffic Load Share | Coverage-heavy, low capacity share |
| Device Hotspots (MHz) | 868.40; 868.1/868.3/868.5 |
| Device Category | Home Automation (Z-Wave); LoRa / LoRaWAN |
| Typical Use Cases | home automation mesh (sensors, switches); LPWAN sensors/meters/trackers |
| Typical Center Frequencies [MHz] | US 908.42; EU 868.40; AU/NZ 921.40; EU 868 (125 kHz); US 915 (125/500 kHz); EU 433 |
| Rule Part (Fcc Or Region) | FCC Part 15.247; ETSI EN 300 220 |
| Modulation (Device) | GFSK; LoRa (CSS) |
| Channel Width (Device) [kHz] | ~100; 125–500 |
| Device Region Profiles | US: 908–916; EU: 868.4; AU/NZ: ~921; EU: 868; US: 902–928; AU/NZ: 915–928; AS923 variants |
| Per-Region EIRP Or Duty (Device) | EU ≤14 dBm EIRP; US varies by hopping/dwell; EU ≤14 dBm; US up to 30 dBm class (gateway) |
| Allocation Relevance (Device) | ISM/SRD allocations allow low-power HA; ISM LPWAN allocations |
| Adjacent-Band Collision Risks (Device) | 915 MHz congestion with LoRa/Smart meters/RFID; 915 MHz overlaps Z-Wave/RFID/smart meters |
| Example Devices Or Skus | Cellular (2G/3G Legacy Devices) |
| Antenna Form Factor (Typical) | ¼-wave ≈ 8.63 cm |
| Power Source Or Duty Profile (Typical) | Mains or coin-cell depending on node; Battery sensors; mains gateways |
🛡️ Regulatory & Neighbors
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Lower Band Frequency Limit | 851 |
| Upper Band Frequency Limit | 869 |
| Rx Blocking Min dBm | -15 (planning) |
| Lower Neighbor Use | No adjacent allocation defined |
| Upper Neighbor Use | Cellular 850 (CLR) — Downlink |
| Lower Neighbor Band | Cellular 850 (CLR) — Uplink (segment) |
| Lower Neighbor Range | 836.000–849.000 MHz |
| Upper Neighbor Label | Cellular 850 (CLR) — Downlink |
| Upper Neighbor Range | 870.000–894.000 MHz |
| Adjacent-Band Collision Risks (Device) | 915 MHz congestion with LoRa/Smart meters/RFID; 915 MHz overlaps Z-Wave/RFID/smart meters |
| Real-World Range (Indoor/Outdoor) | Indoor 10–30 m (node to node); mesh extends coverage; Urban 1–3 km; Suburban 2–10 km; Rural 10–20+ km |
| US FCC Alloc | Public Safety / LMR (Downlink)Public Safety / LMR (Downlink) |
| CA IC Alloc | Public Safety / LMR (Downlink)Public Safety / LMR (Downlink) |
| UK Ofcom Alloc | LMR (regional)LMR (regional) |
| Regulatory References | US: 47 CFR Part 90 (Private Land Mobile); CA: ISED RSS‑119 (Land Mobile 27.41–960 MHz); UK: Ofcom PMR/Business Radio (UK FAT) |
| Global Harmonization | Global |
| Crossborder Coordination | High |
| Sharing Mechanism | – |
| Auction Status | – |
| Guard Or Pair | – |
📈 Market & Measurements
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Noise Floor | -110 dBm (est.) |
| Interference Cases | – |
| Lower Neighbor Range | 836.000–849.000 MHz |
| Upper Neighbor Range | 870.000–894.000 MHz |
| Interference Notes | Adjacent cellular downlinks; filtering needed |
| Market Licensing Model | Auctioned (IMT) |
| Market Commercial Value | High-value IMT band |
| Market Common Devices | LTE/NR smartphones, legacy GSM/CDMA devices |
| Market Deployment Density | Dense urban, broad rural coverage |
| Noise Floor (Estimated) | -110 dBm (est.) |
| Market Commercial Value (Estimated) | High-value IMT band |
| Ecosystem Maturity | Emerging |
| Indoor Penetration | Good |
| Known Interference | No major interference issues noted |
| Device Ecosystem Size | Medium (100–1000 models) |
| Real-World Range (Indoor/Outdoor) | Indoor 10–30 m (node to node); mesh extends coverage; Urban 1–3 km; Suburban 2–10 km; Rural 10–20+ km |
| Antenna Form Factor (Typical) | ¼-wave ≈ 8.63 cm |
| Ecosystem Maturity | Emerging |
| Device Ecosystem Size | Medium (100–1000 models) |
| Chipset Availability | Specialized vendors (Motorola, Airbus) |
| Operator Deployments | Regional/national public safety agencies |
| Technology Generations Deployed | LMR / TETRA digital voice |
| Roaming Support | No |
| Traffic Load Share | Coverage-heavy, low capacity share |
| Indoor Penetration | Good |
| Known Interference | No major interference issues noted |
| Occupancy | Medium |
| Occupancy Bucket Pct | 10–30% |
| Latency Profile | – |
| Common Channels Or Profiles | US: 908–916; EU: 868.4; AU/NZ: ~921; EU868: 863–870; US915: 902–928; EU433: 433.05–434.79 |
| Security Features | AES-128 (S2); AES-128 network/app keys |
| Lbt Or Fhss Requirement | Region dependent (LBT in EU; hopping/dwell in US); EU: LBT/duty-cycle; US: hopping/dwell |
| Popularity (Installed Base) | High |
| Coexistence Tips | Spread nodes; avoid metal enclosures; choose less-crowded channels; Use sub-band plans; ADR; avoid continuous beacons |
| Latency Class | Low/Interactive; Not critical / ALOHA |
| Device Hotspots (Scoped && Tagged) | EU (Region 1): 868.4 |
