Are 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz wireless microphones legal in the US?

Yes. 902–928 MHz and 2400–2483.5 MHz operate under 47 CFR §15.247, and 1920–1930 MHz operates under §15.323, all legal nationwide without a license. None of them carries any interference protection, so you accept whatever else is using the band.

Is 1.9 GHz better than 2.4 GHz for wireless mics?

Usually, in the sense that 1920–1930 MHz is far less crowded — its main neighbours are DECT-style conference systems rather than Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The trade is a narrow 10 MHz allocation and shorter usable range, which suits indoor presentation work better than exteriors.

Can I use the 700 MHz band if my gear tunes there?

No. The 698–806 MHz band was cleared for wireless microphones in 2010 and operation there has been prohibited ever since, regardless of what the transmitter can tune. The 600 MHz service band at 617–652 and 663–698 MHz is equally off limits, with a deadline of July 13, 2020.

What frequencies above 700 MHz can licensed operators use?

A Part 74 license adds 941.5–959.85 MHz, 1435–1525 MHz, 6875–6900 MHz and 7100–7125 MHz. The 1435–1525 MHz allocation is restricted to fixed locations, so it is not available for bag or body-pack work.

Gear & blocks

Working above 700 MHz: 900 MHz, 1.9 GHz and 2.4 GHz

RF ScoutUpdated July 26, 20264 min read

Three bands above 700 MHz are legal for wireless microphones nationwide without a license: 902–928 MHz ISM under 47 CFR §15.247, 1920–1930 MHz unlicensed PCS under §15.323, and 2400–2483.5 MHz ISM under §15.247. None of them carries interference protection, and all three are shared — 900 MHz with cordless phones, smart meters and IoT radios, 2.4 GHz with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and 1.9 GHz mostly with DECT-style conference systems. They are a real answer when the TV band is full, and a poor first choice when it is not.

The UHF TV band lost 617–698 MHz to mobile carriers and the old 698–806 MHz band went a decade before that. What remains above 700 MHz for most operators is not TV band at all — it is a set of shared industrial and consumer allocations that happen to be legal for audio. They are genuinely useful. They are also nobody's first choice, and it is worth being clear about why.

The three unlicensed options

License-free bands above 700 MHz
Band	Rule	Shared with	Status
`902–928 MHz`	§15.247 (ISM)	Cordless phones, smart meters, IoT radios, amateur operators	Legal nationwide, unprotected
`1920–1930 MHz`	§15.323 (unlicensed PCS)	DECT-style conference and presentation systems	Legal nationwide, unprotected
`2400–2483.5 MHz`	§15.247 (ISM)	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and everything else in a modern building	Legal nationwide, unprotected

Legal without a license is the appeal, and it is not a small one — no Part 74 qualification, no white space database registration, no market-by-market anxiety about which TV channel is live. Blocks like Shure's X52 at 902–928 MHz exist precisely for that reason.

What you give up

No interference protection, in either direction. Unlicensed means exactly that: you accept whatever the band throws at you and you must not complain. A TV-band mic at least has a coordination process behind it.
Neighbours you cannot see or predict. A UHF TV occupant is a fixed transmitter you can look up. A smart meter mesh, a warehouse of cordless handsets or four hundred phones on a conference Wi-Fi network are none of those things.
Harder propagation. Higher frequencies lose more to distance, to walls and to bodies. 2.4 GHz in particular is unkind to a transmitter under a costume with a person standing between it and the antenna.
Antenna and cable practice changes. Coax loss climbs with frequency, and a run that was tolerable at 500 MHz is not automatically tolerable at 2.4 GHz.
Channel counts are modest. These bands are not a substitute for 138 MHz of UHF when you need twenty channels in a bag.

When each one is the right call

902–928 MHz: The pragmatic overflow band. Useful for a hop, a comms circuit or the last two channels when the TV band is full. Behaves reasonably outdoors and in low-density settings; expect company in any urban or industrial environment.
1920–1930 MHz: Usually the cleanest of the three, because its neighbours are almost all indoor DECT-style systems that coordinate themselves. Short range and a narrow 10 MHz allocation, which suits presentation, panel and conference work far better than a run-and-gun exterior.
2400–2483.5 MHz: Workable in a field, punishing in a venue. In an empty park it is a perfectly good radio link. In a hotel ballroom with venue Wi-Fi, press Wi-Fi and a thousand phones, it is a coin toss you have to keep making.

The honest framing is that these bands are a supplement, not a migration. The place they earn their keep is the third or fourth thing on a channel plan — a plant mic, a talkback circuit, an IFB feed — while the principal talent stays in 470–608 MHz where the coordination is predictable and the physics is friendlier.

The licensed bands above 700 MHz

Part 74 licensees get several allocations well above the TV band. These are not license-free alternatives — they are the reward for holding the license, and one of them is not portable at all.

Part 74 low power auxiliary allocations above 700 MHz
Band	Availability	Note
`941.5–959.85 MHz`	Licensed Part 74 only	Lectrosonics block 941 at `941.000–960.000 MHz` overlaps this allocation
`1435–1525 MHz`	Licensed Part 74 only	Fixed locations only — not a bag or body-pack band
`6875–6900 MHz`	Licensed Part 74 only	Well outside typical production wireless hardware
`7100–7125 MHz`	Licensed Part 74 only	Well outside typical production wireless hardware

If the reason you are reading this is that the TV band looked full at your location, it is worth confirming that before rebuying the kit. Occupancy varies enormously by address, and a location that is hostile at one end of the band is often fine at the other — see why wireless drops out near TV towers and what frequencies wireless mics can use.

Enter your address and see how much UHF room you actually have before falling back to 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz.

Check the TV band first

Common questions

Are 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz wireless microphones legal in the US?: Yes. 902–928 MHz and 2400–2483.5 MHz operate under 47 CFR §15.247, and 1920–1930 MHz operates under §15.323, all legal nationwide without a license. None of them carries any interference protection, so you accept whatever else is using the band.
Is 1.9 GHz better than 2.4 GHz for wireless mics?: Usually, in the sense that 1920–1930 MHz is far less crowded — its main neighbours are DECT-style conference systems rather than Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The trade is a narrow 10 MHz allocation and shorter usable range, which suits indoor presentation work better than exteriors.
Can I use the 700 MHz band if my gear tunes there?: No. The 698–806 MHz band was cleared for wireless microphones in 2010 and operation there has been prohibited ever since, regardless of what the transmitter can tune. The 600 MHz service band at 617–652 and 663–698 MHz is equally off limits, with a deadline of July 13, 2020.
What frequencies above 700 MHz can licensed operators use?: A Part 74 license adds 941.5–959.85 MHz, 1435–1525 MHz, 6875–6900 MHz and 7100–7125 MHz. The 1435–1525 MHz allocation is restricted to fixed locations, so it is not available for bag or body-pack work.

Sources

Related notes

Field Notes are general reference, not legal advice or a substitute for the rule text. Spectrum rules change; verify anything you are relying on against the current source before you transmit. See the methodology and disclaimer.