5G frequency bands: what your 5G router uses

A band is a defined range of radio frequencies. 3GPP, the standards body behind 5G, numbers every 5G band and splits them into two groups:

• Frequency Range 1 (FR1): 410MHz to 7,125MHz. The UK's 700MHz and 3.4-3.8GHz bands sit here.
• Frequency Range 2 (FR2): 24,250MHz to 71,000MHz, split into FR2-1 (24,250-52,600MHz) and FR2-2 (52,600-71,000MHz). This is mmWave; the UK's 26GHz and 40GHz bands sit in FR2-1.

5G band numbers start with a lower-case n (for New Radio, the 5G radio standard). That's what you'll see on a router's spec sheet, rather than a frequency. Here is what the labels you're most likely to meet stand for, taken from the 3GPP specifications as published by ETSI:

"Up" is the direction from your router to the mast and "down" from the mast to you. Bands with a single range, such as n78, use the same frequencies both ways, taking turns. Spec sheets often list 4G bands as well, with a capital B instead of an n (EE, for example, lists them under LTE, the standard behind 4G). Those matter too. On Non-Standalone 5G, where the 5G radio is added to a 4G network, the 4G bands are used alongside 5G; where there's no 5G, they're used on their own.

The 700MHz band used to carry digital terrestrial TV. Ofcom's 2021 auction released 80MHz of the 700MHz band and 120MHz of the 3.6-3.8GHz band, with licences running to 2041. ISPreview's report of the main results, published on 17 March 2021, shows who won the 700MHz spectrum:

• EE: 2x10MHz of paired 700MHz spectrum, plus 20MHz of 700MHz supplementary downlink, spectrum used only in the mast-to-you direction.
• Three: 2x10MHz of paired 700MHz spectrum.
• O2: 2x10MHz of paired 700MHz spectrum.
• Vodafone: no 700MHz spectrum. It won only 3.6-3.8GHz spectrum.

"Paired" means two equal blocks, one for each direction, which is why n28 has separate up and down ranges in the table above. Vodafone and Three have since merged as VodafoneThree, so these are the 2021 results, not a picture of who holds what today.

ISPreview's report of the final results (27 April 2021) sets out why the low band matters: lower frequencies like 700MHz travel further and penetrate buildings better, working alongside the 800MHz and 900MHz bands networks already held. The operators make the same point about their own networks:

• Virgin Media O2's chief technology officer wrote in October 2021 that O2 had started deploying its low-band spectrum to strengthen the network experience across the country, and especially indoors.
• Vodafone's 5G page (checked 25 October 2026) says the greater coverage of 5G+, its name for 5G Standalone, comes from introducing lower-band 5G spectrum. It doesn't name the band.

5G Standalone itself, the newer form of 5G that runs on its own core network, is a separate subject; our guide to 5G Standalone and what it means at home covers it.

Mid band is the 3.4-3.8GHz range, which both n77 and n78 cover. ISPreview's 2021 report says the 3.6-3.8GHz part tends to be better for ultrafast data speeds in urban areas, and that a block of 100MHz or more is considered ideal for 5G.

Holdings here have been reshuffled several times, which is part of why networks differ:

• Before the 2021 auction, ISPreview listed 3.4GHz holdings of 40MHz for EE, 50MHz for Vodafone and 40MHz for O2. Three held 140MHz across several similar bands, after buying UK Broadband Ltd.
• In the 2021 auction EE, O2 and Vodafone each won 40MHz in the 3.6-3.8GHz band. Three won none there.
• After that auction, O2 and Vodafone agreed a trade within 3.6-3.8GHz so that each had larger continuous blocks: 80MHz for O2 and blocks totalling 90MHz for Vodafone.
• After Vodafone and Three merged, Virgin Media O2 announced on 30 June 2025 that it would buy 78.8MHz of spectrum from Vodafone UK, including 20MHz of 3400MHz spectrum, alongside slices of the 1400MHz, 2100MHz and 2600MHz bands. The deal was announced as subject to Ofcom approval.

The bands a router lists are the ones its radio is built for. ISPreview's report on the mmWave auction makes the practical point: many modern devices, routers included, don't yet fully support the 26GHz and 40GHz bands, so it will take time for the networks to make full use of them. The same logic applies to every band in the table above.

Here is what the providers we checked publish (25 October 2026):

Reading EE's list against the 3GPP table, both EE hubs cover the 700MHz low band (n28) and the 3.4-3.8GHz mid band (n77 and n78), plus three other FR1 bands. EE's spec page also lists a higher maximum transmit power for the 7 Pro on n77 and n78 (26dBm, marked "PC2 (HPUE)") than on its other 5G bands (23dBm). Neither EE hub lists an mmWave band.

A band list tells you what a router can connect on. It doesn't tell you which bands the network uses near you, or how fast it will be. For step-by-step set-up, see our guides to setting up EE 5G home broadband, setting up a Three 5G hub and setting up a Vodafone 5G Hub or GigaCube.

A router can only use the bands it supports, and only the signals that actually reach it. The band-specific point is ISPreview's: lower frequencies such as 700MHz get into buildings better, which also means the higher mid-band signals get in less well. That's the logic behind a spot by a window, or an outdoor unit. Three says its indoor hub should go on or near a windowsill, and that a 5G hub in a spot without 5G still works on 4G.

Neither Three nor Vodafone says which band a window spot helps with, so judge each spot by the hub's signal reading and a broadband speed test, not by guesses about bands. The providers' own placement steps, for indoor and outdoor hubs, are in the set-up guides linked above. If you're wondering why the nearest mast is where it is, see the planning rules for mobile masts, and before buying any signal-boosting kit, read which mobile signal boosters are legal.

In October 2025 Ofcom auctioned the UK's first mmWave spectrum for mobile networks.

• 16 October 2025, main results: EE, O2 and VodafoneThree each won 800MHz in the 26GHz band and 1GHz in the 40GHz band, and each committed to pay £13m: £39m in total, which goes to HM Treasury. Ofcom had made 5.4GHz of spectrum available across the two bands.
• 24 October 2025, final results: Ofcom set out exactly which frequencies each operator gets and granted the licences, completing the auction.
• Where it can be used: the licences last 15 years and cover 68 high-density areas, which ISPreview describes as cities and select transport hubs. Mobile UK puts it as 68 towns and cities; Virgin Media O2 gave examples from London, Cardiff and Bristol to Newcastle, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Why only busy places? ISPreview says mmWave signals tend to be very weak and can't cover a wide area without a much denser network, so they will mainly serve busy urban areas and fixed wireless access (FWA) links. FWA means broadband delivered by radio to a fixed antenna at your home; our guide to fixed wireless broadband explains it. Mobile UK, which describes itself as the voice of the UK's mobile network operators, says mmWave is ideal for adding capacity in crowded places such as football stadiums, concert venues and transport hubs. Virgin Media O2 said there were limited handsets on the UK market for this spectrum and that the airwaves "will be used in future".

EE, Three and Vodafone all sell 5G home broadband. Here is what each publishes that bears on bands, as of 25 October 2026:

• EE broadband deals: the only one of the three with full band lists for its 5G hubs, both of which cover n28, n77 and n78. EE won both 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz spectrum in 2021.
• Three broadband deals: no band list for its indoor or outdoor hub. Three says it has dedicated 140MHz of spectrum to 5G and estimates coverage address by address.
• Vodafone broadband deals: no band list for its 5G Hub or Outdoor Hub. Vodafone credits its 5G+ coverage gains to lower-band 5G spectrum.

Our list of broadband providers shows who else operates in the UK, and you can compare deals at your postcode to see what's on offer at your address. A band list tells you what a router is capable of; your address, your signal and where the router sits decide how well it works. If you've read about 5G masts and health, that's a separate topic: see what the official health advice says about Wi-Fi and 5G.