SPECTRUM

Spectrum refers to the invisible radio frequencies that wireless signals travel over. Those signals are what enable us to make calls from our mobile devices, tag our friends on Instagram, call an Uber, pull up directions to a destination, and do everything on our mobile devices.

The frequencies we use for wireless are only a portion of what is called the electromagnetic spectrum.

The entire electromagnetic spectrum encompasses other frequencies we interact with daily, even if we don’t think about them. You may remember ROYGBIV from elementary school. That’s the acronym for the colors that make up the visible part of spectrum—the spectrum we see. Other parts of spectrum carry broadcast radio and television or serve other everyday functions.

Portions of electromagnetic spectrum are grouped in “bands” depending on their wavelengths—the distance over which the wave’s shape repeats. The full electromagnetic spectrum ranges from three Hz (extremely low frequency) to 300 EHz (gamma rays).  The portion used for wireless communication sits within that space and ranges from about 20 KHz to 300 GHz