Every US radio frequency, and who may use it
Radio spectrum — the airwaves used by everything from AM radio to Wi-Fi to satellites — is divided into frequency bands, and every band is assigned to one or more radio services (Broadcasting, Fixed, Mobile, Amateur, Radiolocation, and so on). That master assignment list is the US Table of Frequency Allocations (47 CFR § 2.106), which this site turns into an interactive chart covering 3 kHz to 300 GHz.
The frequency axis is logarithmic: each equal step along the chart multiplies the frequency by ten. That is the only way 3 kHz and 300 GHz — eight orders of magnitude apart — can share one picture. An allocation tells you which services are permitted in a band; individual licenses within a service are a separate FCC/NTIA process not shown here.
FEDERAL on top, NON-FEDERAL below
The US actually keeps two allocation tables. The Federal table (managed by NTIA) governs federal users — defense, FAA, NOAA, and other agencies. The Non-Federal table (managed by the FCC) governs everyone else — broadcasters, phone carriers, businesses, and amateurs. Many bands appear in both, often with different services.
The thin RIGHTS strip between the tracks summarizes who holds rights: the orange strip lights wherever the Federal table carries its own entry, the blue strip wherever the Non-Federal table does — so both are often lit at once. Where only one is lit, that side has the band exclusively. A white block bridging both strips marks a merged cell: one identical entry shared by both tables, drawn once spanning both tracks.
Color, CAPITALS, and stacking
Each colored block is one band in one table. The color is the service category — the legend under the chart maps every color, and clicking a legend entry spotlights that service across the whole chart. When several services share a band they stack vertically inside the block. A hatched overlay marks satellite services.
Zoom, pan, jump, search
scroll on the chart to zoom in and out, drag to pan, and click any block to select it. The OVERVIEW ribbon at the top always shows the full 3 kHz – 300 GHz range with your current viewport outlined — drag or click it to move anywhere instantly.
Jump to frequency: type 700 for a single frequency or 88-108 for a range, pick the unit, and hit GO. The chart zooms there and drops a marker.
Footnote lookup: allocation rules are riddled with footnotes — US224 (US-wide), NG5 (non-federal), 5.15 (international). Enter one and FIND highlights every band that carries it.
Continuous · Panels · Table
Continuous is the zoomable strip described above — best for exploring. Panels mirrors the classic NTIA wall chart: seven fixed rows, one per frequency decade, so the entire spectrum is visible at once. Table lists every band as a sortable, filterable table — best when you know what you are looking for and want the fine print.
Click a band, get the fine print
Selecting any block opens the detail panel below the chart: the band edges, every allocation with its priority, every footnote spelled out in full, and the FCC rule parts that implement the band. Footnote references are clickable — jumping you to the other bands they touch. Bands marked SHARED · BOTH TABLES are the merged white-bridge cells from section 2.
Overlays, labels, themes, sharing
The Wi-Fi bands overlay hatches the 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz regions most people know, as anchors for orientation. Labels ↔ flips block text between horizontal and vertical (vertical fits more names in narrow bands, like the printed wall chart). Light/Dark toggles the theme. Copy link captures your exact viewport in the URL — paste it anywhere and the recipient lands on precisely the view you were seeing.
What each service actually means
Every block on the chart names one or more of these services. The definitions below are plain-language condensations of the official ones in 47 CFR § 2.1 (which implements ITU Radio Regulations Article 1) — that link is the legally authoritative wording. A -SATELLITE suffix always means the same service carried via space stations instead of terrestrial ones.
FIXED — Radio links between specific, stationary points — microwave relay hops, point-to-point backhaul between towers.
FIXED-SATELLITE (FSS) — Links between fixed earth stations relayed through satellites — satellite internet gateways, TV distribution feeds.
MOBILE — Communication involving stations that move or stop at unspecified points — the umbrella service covering land, air, and sea mobility, including cellular.
MOBILE-SATELLITE (MSS) — Moving terminals communicating through satellites — satellite phones and satellite messengers.
LAND MOBILE — Mobile service on land — public-safety radio, business dispatch, and cellular networks.
LAND MOBILE-SATELLITE (LMSS) — Land-based mobile terminals connected via satellite.
AERONAUTICAL MOBILE — Aircraft-to-ground and aircraft-to-aircraft communication — air traffic control voice channels.
AERONAUTICAL MOBILE-SATELLITE (AMSS) — Aircraft communication relayed via satellite — oceanic datalink, in-flight connectivity.
MARITIME MOBILE — Ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship communication — marine VHF, distress and calling channels.
MARITIME MOBILE-SATELLITE (MMSS) — Ship communication relayed via satellite.
BROADCASTING — One-way transmission intended for direct reception by the general public — AM, FM, and television.
BROADCASTING-SATELLITE (BSS) — Direct-to-home satellite television and satellite radio.
RADIONAVIGATION — Radio used to determine position and velocity for safe navigation — a protected safety-of-life service.
RADIONAVIGATION-SATELLITE (RNSS) — Satellite positioning — GPS and the other global navigation constellations.
AERONAUTICAL RADIONAVIGATION (ARNS) — Navigation aids for aircraft — instrument landing systems, VOR beacons, radar altimeters.
AERONAUTICAL RADIONAVIGATION-SATELLITE — Satellite navigation dedicated to aviation use.
MARITIME RADIONAVIGATION — Navigation aids for ships — shipborne radar and coastal radiobeacons.
MARITIME RADIONAVIGATION-SATELLITE — Satellite navigation dedicated to shipping.
RADIOLOCATION — Radar used for purposes other than navigation — defense radar, weather radar, police speed measurement.
RADIOLOCATION-SATELLITE — Radiolocation performed from satellites.
RADIODETERMINATION-SATELLITE (RDSS) — Satellite-based position finding for purposes other than navigation.
AMATEUR — Ham radio — self-training, technical experimentation, and emergency communication by licensed operators, non-commercial by definition.
AMATEUR-SATELLITE — Ham radio operated through amateur-built satellites.
RADIO ASTRONOMY (RAS) — Receive-only listening to natural radio emissions from space. Nothing is transmitted — its allocations exist to keep bands quiet, which is why it appears across so much of the chart.
EARTH EXPLORATION-SATELLITE (EESS) — Satellites sensing the Earth itself — weather imagery, climate measurement, remote sensing (largely passive).
SPACE RESEARCH (SRS) — Communication and sensing for scientific spacecraft — deep-space probe links and research missions.
SPACE OPERATION — Housekeeping of spacecraft — tracking, telemetry, and command channels.
METEOROLOGICAL AIDS — Radio supporting weather observation — the radiosondes carried aloft by weather balloons.
METEOROLOGICAL-SATELLITE (METSAT) — Weather-satellite downlinks — the imagery behind every forecast.
INTER-SATELLITE (ISS) — Links between satellites — crosslinks that relay data through space without touching the ground.
STANDARD FREQUENCY AND TIME SIGNAL — Broadcasts of precise time and frequency references — the WWV/WWVB signals that set radio-controlled clocks.
STANDARD FREQUENCY AND TIME SIGNAL-SATELLITE — The same time-and-frequency references delivered from satellites.
Blocks reading not allocated simply have no service assigned in that table — the band is empty for that jurisdiction.