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Concept
Radio spectrum
Summary
The radio spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies from 3 Hz to 3,000 GHz (3 THz). Electromagnetic waves in this frequency range, called radio waves, are widely used in modern technology, particularly in telecommunication. To prevent interference between different users, the generation and transmission of radio waves is strictly regulated by national laws, coordinated by an international body, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Different parts of the radio spectrum are allocated by the ITU for different radio transmission technologies and applications; some 40 radiocommunication services are defined in the ITU's Radio Regulations (RR). In some cases, parts of the radio spectrum are sold or licensed to operators of private radio transmission services (for example, cellular telephone operators or broadcast television stations). Ranges of allocated frequencies are often referred to by their provisioned use (for example, cellular spectrum or television spectrum). Because it is a fixed resource which is in demand by an increasing number of users, the radio spectrum has become increasingly congested in recent decades, and the need to utilize it more effectively is driving modern telecommunications innovations such as trunked radio systems, spread spectrum, ultra-wideband, frequency reuse, dynamic spectrum management, frequency pooling, and cognitive radio.
The frequency boundaries of the radio spectrum are a matter of convention in physics and are somewhat arbitrary. Since radio waves are the lowest frequency category of electromagnetic waves, there is no lower limit to the frequency of radio waves. Radio waves are defined by the ITU as: "electromagnetic waves of frequencies arbitrarily
lower than 3000 GHz, propagated in space without artificial guide". At the high frequency end the radio spectrum is bounded by the infrared band. The boundary between radio waves and infrared waves is defined at different frequencies in different scientific fields.
Official source
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