EUTRA Band and Frequency Range

An E-UTRA band is a pair of frequency ranges, one for the uplink and one for the downlink, and a number that names the pair. A carrier inside that band is named by a channel number rather than by a frequency. The two tables on this page are the two halves of that arrangement.

Three questions follow. What a band actually fixes, how a channel number turns back into a frequency, and where the two tables below disagree. The sections take them in that order.

What does an operating band define ?

A band entry is four numbers and a mode. Two of the numbers bound the uplink, two bound the downlink, and the mode says whether those two ranges are used at the same time or in turn. Everything else on this page follows from them.

< 36.521-1 V15.0.0 - Table 5.2-1: E-UTRA operating bands >

EUTRA Operating Band	Uplink			Downlink			Duplex Mode
EUTRA Operating Band	F(UL_low) – F(UL_high)			F(DL_low) – F(DL_high)			Duplex Mode
1	1920 MHz	–	1980 MHz	2110 MHz	–	2170 MHz	FDD
2	1850 MHz	–	1910 MHz	1930 MHz	–	1990 MHz	FDD
3	1710 MHz	–	1785 MHz	1805 MHz	–	1880 MHz	FDD
4	1710 MHz	–	1755 MHz	2110 MHz	–	2155 MHz	FDD
5	824 MHz	–	849 MHz	869 MHz	–	894MHz	FDD
61	830 MHz	–	840 MHz	875 MHz	–	885 MHz	FDD
7	2500 MHz	–	2570 MHz	2620 MHz	–	2690 MHz	FDD
8	880 MHz	–	915 MHz	925 MHz	–	960 MHz	FDD
9	1749.9 MHz	–	1784.9 MHz	1844.9 MHz	–	1879.9 MHz	FDD
10	1710 MHz	–	1770 MHz	2110 MHz	–	2170 MHz	FDD
11	1427.9 MHz	–	1447.9 MHz	1475.9 MHz	–	1495.9 MHz	FDD
12	699 MHz	–	716 MHz	729 MHz	–	746 MHz	FDD
13	777 MHz	–	787 MHz	746 MHz	–	756 MHz	FDD
14	788 MHz	–	798 MHz	758 MHz	–	768 MHz	FDD
15	Reserved			Reserved			FDD
16	Reserved			Reserved			FDD
17	704 MHz	–	716 MHz	734 MHz	–	746 MHz	FDD
18	815 MHz	–	830 MHz	860 MHz	–	875 MHz	FDD
19	830 MHz	–	845 MHz	875 MHz	–	890 MHz	FDD
20	832 MHz	–	862 MHz	791 MHz	–	821 MHz	FDD
21	1447.9 MHz	–	1462.9 MHz	1495.9 MHz	–	1510.9 MHz	FDD
22	3410 MHz	–	3490 MHz	3510 MHz	–	3590 MHz	FDD
23	2000 MHz	–	2020 MHz	2180 MHz	–	2200 MHz	FDD
24	1626.5 MHz	–	1660.5 MHz	1525 MHz	–	1559 MHz	FDD
25	1850 MHz	–	1915 MHz	1930 MHz	–	1995 MHz	FDD
26	814 MHz	–	849 MHz	859 MHz	–	894 MHz	FDD
27	807 MHz	–	824 MHz	852 MHz	–	869 MHz	FDD
28	703 MHz	–	748 MHz	758 MHz	–	803 MHz	FDD
29	NA			717 MHz	–	728 MHz	FDD²
30	2305 MHz	–	2315 MHz	2350 MHz	–	2360 MHz	FDD¹⁵
31	452.5 MHz	–	457.5 MHz	462.5 MHz	–	467.5 MHz	FDD
32	N/A			1452 MHz	–	1496 MHz	FDD²
33	1900 MHz	–	1920 MHz	1900 MHz	–	1920 MHz	TDD
34	2010 MHz	–	2025 MHz	2010 MHz	–	2025 MHz	TDD
35	1850 MHz	–	1910 MHz	1850 MHz	–	1910 MHz	TDD
36	1930 MHz	–	1990 MHz	1930 MHz	–	1990 MHz	TDD
37	1910 MHz	–	1930 MHz	1910 MHz	–	1930 MHz	TDD
38	2570 MHz	–	2620 MHz	2570 MHz	–	2620 MHz	TDD
39	1880 MHz	–	1920 MHz	1880 MHz	–	1920 MHz	TDD
40	2300 MHz	–	2400 MHz	2300 MHz	–	2400 MHz	TDD
41	2496 MHz	–	2690 MHz	2496 MHz	–	2690 MHz	TDD
42	3400 MHz	–	3600 MHz	3400 MHz	–	3600 MHz	TDD
43	3600 MHz	–	3800 MHz	3600 MHz	–	3800 MHz	TDD
44	703 MHz	–	803 MHz	703 MHz	–	803 MHz	TDD
45	1447 MHz	–	1467 MHz	1447 MHz	–	1467 MHz	TDD
46	5150 MHz	–	5925 MHz	5150 MHz	–	5925 MHz	TDD^8,9
47	5855 MHz	–	5925 MHz	5855 MHz	–	5925 MHz	TDD¹¹
48	3550 MHz	–	3700 MHz	3550 MHz	–	3700 MHz	TDD
50	1432 MHz	-	1517 MHz	1432 MHz	-	1517 MHz	TDD¹³
51	1427 MHz	-	1432 MHz	1427 MHz	-	1432 MHz	TDD¹³
…
64	Reserved
65	1920 MHz	–	2010 MHz	2110 MHz	–	2200 MHz	FDD
66	1710 MHz	–	1780 MHz	2110 MHz	–	2200 MHz	FDD⁴
67	N/A			738 MHz	–	758 MHz	FDD²
68	698 MHz		728 MHz	753 MHz	–	783 MHz	FDD
69	N/A			2570 MHz	–	2620 MHz	FDD²
70	1695 MHz		1710 MHz	1995 MHz	–	2020 MHz	FDD¹⁰
71	663 MHz		698 MHz	617 MHz	–	652 MHz	FDD
72	451 MHz		456 MHz	461 MHz	–	466 MHz	FDD
…
75	N/A			1432 MHz	–	1517 MHz	FDD²
76	N/A			1427 MHz	–	1432 MHz	FDD²

The first column is the band number, and the next six hold the two edge pairs: F(UL_low) to F(UL_high), then F(DL_low) to F(DL_high).
Sixty-one bands are listed. The final column carries the duplex mode, which is what separates a paired band from an unpaired one.
An FDD band has two separate ranges, so the uplink and the downlink run together. A TDD band shows the same range twice, because one range carries both directions in turn.
The two ranges of an FDD band need not be the same width, and the gap between them is not shown here. It is the duplex spacing, and it matters as much to a radio designer as the edges do.
Band 64 is listed with no frequencies. It is reserved, and no carrier is defined in it.

A band is a pair of ranges and a mode : four edge frequencies and one duplex mode are the whole of an entry.
TDD bands repeat their range : the uplink and the downlink columns hold the same numbers, because the same spectrum carries both directions.
The width of a band bounds everything inside it : no carrier, and no combination of carriers, reaches past the edges in this table.
A reserved band has no frequencies : band 64 occupies a number and nothing else.

How does an EARFCN become a frequency ?

The table further down looks like a lookup and is really a set of constants for an equation. A channel number on its own means nothing. Combined with the two numbers beside it in the table, it gives one carrier frequency exactly.

36.101 clause 5.7.3 gives the rule. A carrier is designated by an E-UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number in the range 0 to 262143. The frequency follows from that number by one subtraction and one multiplication.

F_DL = F_{DL_low} + 0.1 × (N_DL − N_Offs-DL)

F_UL = F_{UL_low} + 0.1 × (N_UL − N_Offs-UL)

The 0.1 is the channel raster in MHz. A carrier centre can only sit on a 100 kHz step, which is why a channel number is enough to name it.

The table below supplies F_{DL_low}, N_Offs-DL and the range of N_DL for every band, and the same three for the uplink. The offset exists so that channel numbers never repeat across bands.

< 36.521-1 V15.0.0 - Table 5.4.4-1: E-UTRA channel numbers >

Band	Downlink			Uplink
Band	F_{DL_low}(MHz)	N_Offs-DL	Range of N_DL	F_{UL_low}(MHz)	N_Offs-UL	Range of N_UL
1	2110	0	0 – 599	1920	18000	18000 – 18599
2	1930	600	600 - 1199	1850	18600	18600 – 19199
3	1805	1200	1200 – 1949	1710	19200	19200 – 19949
4	2110	1950	1950 – 2399	1710	19950	19950 – 20399
5	869	2400	2400 – 2649	824	20400	20400 – 20649
6	875	2650	2650 – 2749	830	20650	20650 – 20749
7	2620	2750	2750 – 3449	2500	20750	20750 – 21449
8	925	3450	3450 – 3799	880	21450	21450 – 21799
9	1844.9	3800	3800 – 4149	1749.9	21800	21800 – 22149
10	2110	4150	4150 – 4749	1710	22150	22150 – 22749
11	1475.9	4750	4750 – 4949	1427.9	22750	22750 – 22949
12	729	5010	5010 – 5179	699	23010	23010 – 23179
13	746	5180	5180 – 5279	777	23180	23180 – 23279
14	758	5280	5280 – 5379	788	23280	23280 – 23379
…
17	734	5730	5730 – 5849	704	23730	23730 – 23849
18	860	5850	5850 – 5999	815	23850	23850 – 23999
19	875	6000	6000 – 6149	830	24000	24000 – 24149
20	791	6150	6150 – 6449	832	24150	24150 – 24449
21	1495.9	6450	6450 – 6599	1447.9	24450	24450 – 24599
22	3510	6600	6600 – 7399	3410	24600	24600 – 25399
23	2180	7500	7500 – 7699	2000	25500	25500 – 25699
24	1525	7700	7700 - 8039	1626.5	25700	25700 – 26039
25	1930	8040	8040 - 8689	1850	26040	26040 - 26689
26	859	8690	8690 - 9039	814	26690	26690 - 27039
27	852	9040	9040 – 9209	807	27040	27040 – 27209
28	758	9210	9210 – 9659	703	27210	27210 – 27659
29	717	9660	9660 – 9769	N/A
30	2350	9770	9770 – 9869	2305	27660	27660 – 27759
31	462.5	9870	9870 – 9919	452.5	27760	27760 – 27809
32	1452	9920	9920 – 10359	N/A
33	1900	36000	36000 –36199	1900	36000	36000 – 36199
34	2010	36200	36200 –36349	2010	36200	36200 – 36349
35	1850	36350	36350 –36949	1850	36350	36350 – 36949
36	1930	36950	36950 –37549	1930	36950	36950 – 37549
37	1910	37550	37550 –37749	1910	37550	37550 – 37749
38	2570	37750	37750 –38249	2570	37750	37750 – 38249
39	1880	38250	38250 –38649	1880	38250	38250 – 38649
40	2300	38650	38650 –39649	2300	38650	38650 – 39649
41	2496	39650	39650 - 41589	2496	39650	39650 - 41589
42	3400	41590	41590 – 43589	3400	41590	41590 – 43589
43	3600	43590	43590 – 45589	3600	43590	43590 – 45589
44	703	45590	45590 – 46589	703	45590	45590 – 46589
45	1447	46590	46590 – 46789	1447	46590	46590 – 46789
46	5150	46790	46790 – 54539	5150	46790	46790 – 54539
47	5855	54540	54540 - 55239	5855	54540	54540 – 55239
…
65	2110	65536	65536 – 66435	1920	131072	131072 – 131971
66	2110	66436	66436 – 67335	1710	131972	131972 – 132671
67	738	67336	67336 – 67535	N/A
…
69	2570	67836	67836 - 68335	N/A
70	1995	68336	68336-68585	1695	132972	132972-133121
71	617	68586	68586 - 68935	663	133122	133122 - 133471
72	461	68936	68936-68985	451	133472	133472-133521
…
75	1432	69466	69466 - 70315	N/A
76	1427	70316	70316 - 70365	N/A

Band 1 is the worked example. Its downlink row reads F_{DL_low} 2110, N_Offs-DL 0, and N_DL from 0 to 599.
Channel 0 gives 2110 + 0.1 × 0, which is 2110.0 MHz. Channel 599 gives 2110 + 0.1 × 599, which is 2169.9 MHz.
Band 1's downlink runs 2110 to 2170 MHz in the table above. The highest carrier centre therefore sits 0.1 MHz below the upper edge, which is one raster step.
The uplink row works the same way from a different offset. N_Offs-UL is 18000, so channel 18000 is 1920.0 MHz and channel 18599 is 1979.9 MHz.
Those offsets are why an EARFCN is unique. Band 1's uplink starts at 18000 rather than at 0, so no uplink channel number collides with a downlink one.

A channel number is an index, not a frequency : it becomes a frequency only with the band's low edge and offset beside it.
The raster is 100 kHz : the 0.1 in both equations is the only step a carrier centre may sit on.
The offset keeps numbers unique : each band starts its count above the one before it, so an EARFCN names one carrier in one band.
The top channel sits one step inside the edge : band 1 ends at 2169.9 MHz against a 2170 MHz band edge.

Where do the two tables disagree ?

The two tables were copied from the same version of the same specification, so a reader expects them to cover the same bands. They do not. Checking one against the other also shows how closely they agree where they overlap.

Take the overlap first, because it is reassuring. Fifty-three bands appear in both tables. For every one of them the F_{DL_low} in the lower table equals the downlink low edge in the upper one. The range of N_DL spans the band width less a single 100 kHz step. No row disagrees with its partner.

The coverage is where they differ. The upper table lists 61 bands and the lower one 54. Eight bands have a frequency range and no channel numbers: 15, 16, 48, 50, 51, 61, 64 and 68. Band 64 is the understandable one, because it is reserved. The other seven are simply missing.

One band is the reverse case. Band 6 has channel numbers in the lower table and no entry in the upper one, so its frequency range has to be looked up elsewhere.

Both captions name 36.521-1 V15.0.0, which dates them. Eleven of the bands the current 36.101 lists are absent from the upper table: 49, 52, 53, 54, 73, 74, 85, 87, 88, 106 and 111. A band missing from this page is not a band that does not exist.

Two more facts sit in the upper table without being stated. The first is the gap between a band's two ranges.

Subtract the uplink low edge from the downlink low edge and the duplex spacing appears. Band 1 gives 190 MHz and band 2 gives 80 MHz. Across the 34 FDD bands that carry two ranges, the commonest answer is 45 MHz, on eight of them.

Not every answer is positive. Band 13 gives −31 MHz and band 20 gives −41 MHz, because the uplink in those bands sits above the downlink rather than below it. Assume the uplink is always the lower range, and you will be wrong on those two.

The second fact is that six bands have no uplink at all. Bands 29, 32, 67, 69, 75 and 76 carry N/A where the uplink edges would be, so a UE only ever receives in them. They cannot be used on their own, and none of them appears in the channel number table either.

The TDD rows are the opposite case and are entirely regular. All eighteen of them repeat the same range in the uplink and downlink columns, without exception.

The two tables agree wherever they overlap : all 53 shared bands match on the downlink low edge and on the width the channel range covers.
Seven bands have frequencies and no channel numbers : 15, 16, 48, 50, 51, 61 and 68 appear in the upper table only, and band 64 is reserved.
One band has channel numbers and no frequencies : band 6 appears in the lower table only.
Both tables predate eleven bands : the current 36.101 carries 49, 52, 53, 54, 73, 74, 85, 87, 88, 106 and 111 as well.

Reference

[1] 36.101 : 3GPP - E-UTRA; User Equipment radio transmission and reception, v20.0.0. Clause 5.7.3 gives the EARFCN range and the two carrier frequency equations quoted above, and Table 5.6.1-1 is the band list the currency statement is measured against.

[2] 36.521-1 : 3GPP - E-UTRA; User Equipment conformance specification; Radio transmission and reception; Part 1. Table 5.2-1 and Table 5.4.4-1 of V15.0.0 are the sources of the two tables above, as their captions say. That version was not re-read here.