Band I
radio wave frequency range
Band I is a range of radio frequencies within the very high frequency (VHF) part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The first time there was defined "for simplicity" in Annex 1 of "Final acts of the European Broadcasting Conference in the VHF and UHF bands - Stockholm, 1961". Band I ranges from 47 to 68 MHz for the European Broadcasting Area, and from 54 to 88 MHz for the Americas and it is primarily used for television broadcasting in compliance with ITU Radio Regulations (article 1.38). With the transition to digital TV, most Band I transmitters have already been switched off.
Television broadcasting usage
Channel spacings vary from country to country, with spacings of 6, 7 and 8 MHz being common.
In the UK, Band I was originally used by the BBC for monochrome 405-line television; likewise, the French former 455-line (1937–1939) then 441-line (1943–1956) transmitter on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and some stations of the French monochrome 819-line system used Band I. Both 405-line and 819-line systems were discontinued in the mid-1980s. Other European countries used Band I for 625-line analogue television, first in monochrome and later in colour.
This was being gradually phased out with the introduction of digital television in the DVB-T standard, which is not defined for VHF Band I, though some older receivers and some modulators do support it.
In the United States, use of this band is for analog NTSC (ended June 12, 2009 for high power stations) and digital ATSC (current). Digital television has problems with impulse noise interference, particularly in this band.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Band I” as radio wave frequency range. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as radio wave frequency range. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 20, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1711539. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1961, 1937, 1939 and 1943.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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This entry incorporates text from “Band I” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.