# 2200-meter band

The 2200-meter band is the amateur radio allocation at 135.7 to 137.8 kHz in the low-frequency (LF) part of the spectrum, the lowest-frequency band available to radio amateurs internationally. It was allocated to the amateur service on a secondary basis at [World Radiocommunication Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-radiocommunication-conference) 2007 (WRC-07) in all three ITU Regions, with a maximum radiated power of 1 W EIRP set by Radio Regulation footnote 5.67A.<sup>[1](https://www.iaru-r1.org/wiki/LF-MF)</sup> The wavelength name comes from the band's center frequency: at about 136 kHz, a wavelength is roughly 2,200 meters.<sup>[2](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-15-50A1_Rcd.pdf)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Frequency range | 135.7 to 137.8 kHz, a width of only 2.1 kHz, barely wide enough for a single SSB transmission<sup>[1](https://www.iaru-r1.org/wiki/LF-MF)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup> |
| Allocation status | Secondary in all ITU Regions (WRC-07); 1 W maximum EIRP under RR 5.67A<sup>[1](https://www.iaru-r1.org/wiki/LF-MF)</sup> |
| Geographic exclusions | Amateur use is not permitted in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, and Tunisia (RR 5.67B)<sup>[1](https://www.iaru-r1.org/wiki/LF-MF)</sup> |
| US rules | Adopted March 2017: 1.5 kW PEP transmitter power, 1 W EIRP, fixed locations only, 1 km separation from power line carrier (PLC) systems, prior notification to the Utilities Technology Council<sup>[4](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-17-33A1_Rcd.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-17-893A1_Rcd.pdf)</sup> |
| Propagation | Ground wave (surface wave) by day; at night the ionospheric skywave becomes stronger than the ground wave beyond about 800 km<sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup> |
| Typical modes | Narrow-band digital modes: WSPR, JT9 derivatives, and very slow CW (QRSS)<sup>[6](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/ProductReviewsForDeb/2019/PR1019.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup> |
| Practical reach | The ITU notes that 1 W EIRP is sufficient for transcontinental and transoceanic transmissions at night<sup>[7](https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/hdb/R-HDB-52-2026-PDF-E.pdf)</sup> |

## International allocation

WRC-07 placed the amateur service in 135.7 to 137.8 kHz as a secondary service alongside the fixed and maritime mobile services in Regions 1 and 2, and alongside fixed, maritime mobile, and radionavigation services in Region 3. Footnote 5.67A caps amateur stations at 1 W EIRP and requires them not to cause harmful interference to radionavigation stations in the countries listed in footnote 5.67. Footnote 5.67B, updated at WRC-19, withdraws amateur access entirely in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, and Tunisia, where the band is limited to the fixed and maritime mobile services.<sup>[1](https://www.iaru-r1.org/wiki/LF-MF)</sup>

The International Amateur Radio Union describes the WRC-07 result as fulfilling its requirement for a worldwide, shared LF allocation below 200 kHz.<sup>[1](https://www.iaru-r1.org/wiki/LF-MF)</sup> National implementations followed at different times: Canadian amateurs received their privileges on 2200 meters at the start of 2009,<sup>[8](https://www.arrl.org/news/canadian-hams-make-use-of-new-privileges)</sup> and the United Kingdom permits secondary amateur use at 1 W ERP with the band plan favoring CW, QRSS, and narrow-band digital modes.<sup>[9](https://rsgb.services/public/bandplans/files/assets/common/downloads/page0005.pdf)</sup>

## United States rules

The FCC allocated 135.7 to 137.8 kHz to the amateur service on a secondary basis in 2015, implementing the WRC-07 decisions, and adopted the operating rules on March 29, 2017, alongside a secondary 630-meter allocation at 472 to 479 kHz implementing WRC-12.<sup>[2](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-15-50A1_Rcd.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-17-33A1_Rcd.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[10](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/About%20ARRL/Annual%20Reports/ARRL%202017%20Annual%20Report.pdf)</sup> Under Part 97, only General, Advanced, and Amateur Extra class licensees may operate there.<sup>[11](https://www.arrl.org/band-plan)</sup>

The US rules impose conditions that shape how the band is used:

- [Transmitter](https://www.edgepedia.org/transmitter) power may not exceed 1.5 kW PEP, but radiated power may not exceed 1 W EIRP.<sup>[4](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-17-33A1_Rcd.pdf)</sup>
- Stations may operate only at fixed locations, and never within one kilometer of a transmission line carrying a power line carrier (PLC) signal in the band.<sup>[12](https://www.arrl.org/part-97-text)</sup>
- Before operating, the licensee must notify the Utilities Technology Council (UTC), which maintains a database of PLC systems, giving call sign, intended band, and antenna coordinates. Operation may begin after 30 days unless the UTC reports the site is within one kilometer of a PLC system on the same or overlapping frequencies.<sup>[5](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-17-893A1_Rcd.pdf)</sup>
- Amateur stations must accept interference from US government fixed and maritime mobile stations and from stations of other nations in the fixed, maritime mobile, and radionavigation services.<sup>[4](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-17-33A1_Rcd.pdf)</sup>

The one-kilometer PLC separation rests on an ARRL technical analysis, accepted by the FCC and the UTC, concluding that PLC systems are sufficiently protected from 1 W EIRP amateur transmissions at that distance.<sup>[13](https://federal.elaws.us/fr/notice/82-fr-27213)</sup> The restriction is less severe in practice than it sounds, because antennas feasible for amateurs at these frequencies radiate so little power anyway.<sup>[14](https://www.thespectrummonitor.com/may2017tsm.pdf)</sup> Some applicants are still excluded: veteran long-wave experimenter John Andrews, W1TAG, was denied amateur access because his station sat within one kilometer of a PLC line.<sup>[15](https://www.arrl.org/news/new-ham-bands-spring-to-life-veteran-lf-experimenter-denied-amateur-access-to-2200-meters)</sup>

## Propagation

Propagation at 136 kHz differs sharply from the HF bands. By day, the signal travels mainly as a ground wave, a surface wave bent to follow the Earth's curvature, using vertically polarized antennas; the absorbing D region of the ionosphere suppresses any skywave.<sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[16](https://www.arrl.org/lf-low-frequency)</sup> At night, electrons produced by photo-dissociation in the D layer recombine quickly, the apparent reflection level rises to the base of the E layer at around 90 to 100 km, and the skywave becomes stronger than the ground wave at distances beyond about 800 km. All long-distance contacts on the band are due to these ionospherically returned signals.<sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup>

Solar disturbances degrade conditions in a distinctive way. Poor nights typically occur two to three days after a geomagnetic event that lifts the Kp index to 5 or above, and the Dst (disturbance storm time) index has proven a fairly good predictor; charged particles injected by coronal mass ejections diffuse to the D layer and form a long-lived absorbing layer that persists even after Kp returns to quiet values.<sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup>

## Stations and antennas

The band's defining engineering problem is antenna size. A half-wave antenna on 2200 meters would be more than a kilometer long, so experimenters use short, inefficient verticals with very large loading coils.<sup>[16](https://www.arrl.org/lf-low-frequency)</sup> One documented station measured about 43 ohms of resistance at its loading coil input, implying an overall antenna system efficiency well under 0.1 percent.<sup>[17](https://ka7oei.blogspot.com/2017/12/now-qrv-on-630-and-2200-meters.html)</sup> Joe Craig, VO1NA, used for years an antenna of two parallel wires 100 meters long spaced 1 meter apart, fed with another 50 meters of wire for 150 meters total, matched with a loading coil and variometer; about 2,000 V appears at the feedthrough insulator during transmissions from his class E transmitter.<sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup>

Receiving is its own discipline. Many general-coverage transceivers tune down to 100 kHz, but stability of 0.1 Hz per hour or better is required, and a 500 Hz CW filter is only the first step; software such as Argo applies fast Fourier transforms to narrow the effective bandwidth to around 0.01 Hz and display Morse elements as traces on a waterfall. Distant amateur signals are rarely audible by ear; operators let the computer do the listening.<sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup>

## Operating record

Because the 2.1 kHz bandwidth cannot accommodate ordinary voice or fast data, operation concentrates on extremely narrow modes: WSPR beacons and JT9 derivatives are the prevalent choices, alongside QRSS, very slow CW with dots tens of seconds long.<sup>[6](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/ProductReviewsForDeb/2019/PR1019.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup>

Transatlantic work began before the US allocation existed. In 2003, VO1NA in Newfoundland sent an LF signal to England using QRSS30, dots 30 seconds long, received by Alan Melia, G3NYK; early path-loss estimates from the Canadian naval station CFH on 137.00 kHz had suggested a crossing was just possible within the 1 W ERP limit, and Dave Bowman, G0MRF, soon made the first one-way LF crossing to John, VE1ZJ.<sup>[3](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)</sup> Once the 2017 US rules came into force, ARRL announced what the station's operator described as the first two-way transatlantic contact made from the US on 2200 meters while operating under Part 97; the equipment comprised a QRP Labs Ultimate 3S transmitter, a 200 W class E amplifier using a single FET and built at home, and a vertical antenna 90 feet tall with top loading.<sup>[18](https://www.arrl.org/news/apparent-first-2200-meter-transatlantic-contact-by-us-radio-amateur-reported)</sup>

## Relation to the 630-meter band

The 2200-meter band shares its regulatory framework with the [630-meter band](https://www.edgepedia.org/630-meter-band) at 472 to 479 kHz, allocated at WRC-12 and opened to US amateurs by the same 2017 order. The 630-meter band allows 5 W EIRP and 500 W PEP, except within 800 kilometers of the Russian Federation in Alaska, where the 1 W EIRP limit applies; both bands share the fixed-location, UTC-notification, and one-kilometer PLC separation rules.<sup>[4](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-17-33A1_Rcd.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[12](https://www.arrl.org/part-97-text)</sup> Together they gave amateur radio its first LF and MF allocations below the 160-meter band, completing what ARRL called a basic complement of amateur allocations across the radio spectrum domestically.<sup>[19](https://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-supports-maximum-flexibility-for-amateur-use-of-new-2200-and-630-meter-bands)</sup>

## References

1. [LF-MF, IARU Region 1 wiki (135.7-137.8 kHz, RR 5.67A and 5.67B)](https://www.iaru-r1.org/wiki/LF-MF)
2. [FCC 15-50, Report and Order allocating 135.7-137.8 kHz to the amateur service](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-15-50A1_Rcd.pdf)
3. [Joe Craig, VO1NA, and Alan Melia, G3NYK, "The Transatlantic on 2200 Meters," QST, July 2005](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/craig.pdf)
4. [FCC 17-33, Report and Order implementing WRC-12 (Part 97 amendments)](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-17-33A1_Rcd.pdf)
5. [FCC Public Notice DA 17-893, procedure for notifying the Utilities Technology Council](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-17-893A1_Rcd.pdf)
6. [ARRL Product Review, 2200-meter band operating modes](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/ProductReviewsForDeb/2019/PR1019.pdf)
7. [ITU Handbook on Amateur and Amateur-Satellite Services, R-HDB-52](https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/hdb/R-HDB-52-2026-PDF-E.pdf)
8. ["Canadian Hams Make Use of New Privileges," ARRL News](https://www.arrl.org/news/canadian-hams-make-use-of-new-privileges)
9. [RSGB Band Plan, 136 kHz licence notes](https://rsgb.services/public/bandplans/files/assets/common/downloads/page0005.pdf)
10. [ARRL 2017 Annual Report, "Two New Band Allocations"](https://www.arrl.org/files/file/About%20ARRL/Annual%20Reports/ARRL%202017%20Annual%20Report.pdf)
11. [ARRL Band Plan, 2200 and 630-meter bands](https://www.arrl.org/band-plan)
12. [ARRL, Part 97 text (§97.303(g), §97.313(k))](https://www.arrl.org/part-97-text)
13. [WRC-12 Implementation Report and Order, Federal Register 82 FR 27213](https://federal.elaws.us/fr/notice/82-fr-27213)
14. [The Spectrum Monitor, May 2017](https://www.thespectrummonitor.com/may2017tsm.pdf)
15. ["New Ham Bands Spring to Life; Veteran LF Experimenter Denied Amateur Access to 2200 Meters," ARRL News](https://www.arrl.org/news/new-ham-bands-spring-to-life-veteran-lf-experimenter-denied-amateur-access-to-2200-meters)
16. [ARRL, LF (Low Frequency)](https://www.arrl.org/lf-low-frequency)
17. [KA7OEI, "Now QRV on 630 and 2200 meters"](https://ka7oei.blogspot.com/2017/12/now-qrv-on-630-and-2200-meters.html)
18. ["Apparent First 2200-Meter Transatlantic Contact by US Radio Amateur Reported," ARRL News](https://www.arrl.org/news/apparent-first-2200-meter-transatlantic-contact-by-us-radio-amateur-reported)
19. ["ARRL Supports Maximum Flexibility for Amateur Use of New 2200 and 630 Meter Bands," ARRL News](https://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-supports-maximum-flexibility-for-amateur-use-of-new-2200-and-630-meter-bands)

---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Communications and everyday technology › Telecom industry, regulation, and organizations › Telecom regulation and law › Spectrum and radio-licensing policy › Frequency bands and allocations*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license