The S band is a designation by the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

(IEEE) for a part of the

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...

band of the

electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of electromagnetic radiation, organized by frequency or wavelength. The spectrum is divided into separate bands, with different names for the electromagnetic waves within each band. From low to high ...

covering frequencies from 2 to 4

gigahertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base un ...

(GHz). Thus it crosses the conventional boundary between the UHF and SHF bands at 3.0 GHz. The S band is used by airport surveillance radar for

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

weather radar A weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern w ...

, surface ship

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

, and some

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

s, particularly satellites used by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

to communicate with the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

and the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

. The 10 cm

short-band ranges roughly from 1.55 to 5.2 GHz. India's regional satellite navigation network ( IRNSS) broadcasts on 2.483778 to 2.500278 GHz. The S band also contains the 2.4–2.483 GHz ISM band, widely used for low power unlicensed microwave devices such as cordless phones, wireless headphones (

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...

garage door opener A garage door opener is a motorized device that opens and closes a garage door controlled by switches on the garage wall. Most also include a handheld radio remote control carried by the owner, which can be used to open and close the door from ...

s, keyless vehicle locks, baby monitors as well as for medical diathermy machines and

microwave oven A microwave oven, or simply microwave, is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces Dipole#Molecular dipoles, polar molecules in the food to rotate and ...

s (typically at 2.495 GHz). One of its largest uses is 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

wireless networks, allowing smartphones, laptops, printers and TVs to connect to the internet without cables.

Wi-Fi

The largest use of this band is by

networks; the IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g standards use the 2.4 GHz section of the S band. These are the most widely used computer networks in the world, used globally in home and small office networks to link

desktop A desktop traditionally refers to: * The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor) Desktop may refer to various compu ...

and

laptop A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a Clamshell design, clamshell form factor (design), form factor with a flat-panel computer scree ...

computers,

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers ...

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

smart TV A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV or, rarely, CoTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features that allow users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart T ...

s, printers, and

smart speaker A smart speaker is a type of loudspeaker and voice command device with an integrated virtual assistant (artificial intelligence), virtual assistant that offers interactive actions and Hands-free computing, hands-free activation with the help of o ...

s together and to a wireless router to connect them to the Internet, and in

wireless access point In Computer networking device, computer networking, a wireless access point (WAP) (also just access point (AP)) is a networking hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network or wireless network. As a standalone ...

s in public places like coffee shops, hotels, libraries and airports to provide the public Internet access for mobile devices.

Mobile services

Mobile services are operated in the 2.3 GHz to 2.6 GHz range, specifically between the 2300–2400 MHz band and the 2500–2690 MHz band. Spectrum in the 3.55–3.7 GHz band has been auctioned off in the United States to be used for CBRS services and spectrum between 3.45–3.55 GHz and 3.7–3.98 GHz has been auctioned off by the FCC for 5G although this spectrum is referred to as C Band by the agency.

Satellite communications

In the United States, the FCC approved satellite-based Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS)

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

in the S band from 2.31 to 2.36 GHz in 1995, used by Sirius XM Radio. More recently, it has approved portions of the S band between 2.0 and 2.2 GHz for the creation of Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) networks in connection with Ancillary Terrestrial Components (ATC). There have been a number of companies attempting to deploy such networks, including ICO Satellite Management (now Pendrell Corporation) and TerreStar (defunct). The 2.6 GHz range is used for China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting, a

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...

and mobile TV standard which, as with proprietary systems in the United States, is incompatible with the

open standard An open standard is a standard that is openly accessible and usable by anyone. It is also a common prerequisite that open standards use an open license that provides for extensibility. Typically, anybody can participate in their development due to ...

s used in the rest of the world. In May 2009,

Inmarsat Inmarsat is a British communications satellite, satellite telecommunications company, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with groun ...

and Solaris Mobile (a joint venture between Eutelsat and SES ( EchoStar Mobile)) were each awarded a 2×15 MHz portion of the S band by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. The two companies are allowed two years to start providing pan-European MSS services for 18 years. Allocated frequencies are 1.98 to 2.01 GHz for Earth to space communications, and from 2.17 to 2.2 GHz for space to Earth communications. The Eutelsat W2A satellite was launched in April 2009 and is located at 10° East. In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, S band is used by

MNC Vision MNC Vision, previously known as Indovision, is a Satellite television, direct-to-home satellite television and radio service in Indonesia on a subscription basis. It is owned by PT w:id:MNC Vision Networks, MNC Vision Networks Tbk, which is a su ...

for Direct-to-Home satellite television (unlike similar services in most countries, which use K_u band). The frequency allocated for this service is 2.52-2.67 GHz (LOF 1.570 GHz). IndoStar-1 was the world's first commercial communications satellite to use S-band frequencies for broadcast, which efficiently penetrate the atmosphere and provide high-quality transmissions to small-diameter 80 cm antennas in regions that experience heavy rainfall such as Indonesia. A similar Ku- or C-band reception performance requires greater transmission power or much larger dish to penetrate the moist atmosphere.

Deep space communications

Many NASA spacecraft (near Earth and interplanetary) can communicate in the S-band, often using the

Deep Space Network The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is a worldwide Telecommunications network, network of spacecraft communication ground segment facilities, located in the United States (California), Spain (Madrid), and Australia (Canberra), that supports NASA' ...

. For example, the

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...

, launched in 2021, utilizes 2 GHz S-band to enable 40 kbps real time telemetry from near the Sun–Earth L2 point.

Other uses

Microwave oven A microwave oven, or simply microwave, is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces Dipole#Molecular dipoles, polar molecules in the food to rotate and ...

s operate at 2495 or 2450 MHz in the ISM band IEEE 802.16a. Some digital cordless telephones operate in this band too. 802.16e standards use a part of the frequency range of S band; under

WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMA ...

standards. Most vendors are manufacturing equipment in the range of 3.5 GHz. The exact frequency range allocated for this type of use varies between countries. In North America, is an ISM band used for unlicensed spectrum devices such as cordless phones, wireless headphones, and video senders, among other

consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...

uses, including

which operates between 2.402 GHz and 2.480 GHz.

Amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

and amateur satellite operators have two S-band allocations, 13 cm (2.4 GHz) and 9 cm (3.4 GHz).

Amateur television Amateur television (ATV) is the transmission of broadcast quality video and sound reproduction, audio over the wide range of frequencies of radio waves allocated for radio amateur (ham) use. ATV is used for non-commercial experimentation, pleasure ...

repeaters also operate in these bands. Airport surveillance radars typically operate in the 2700–2900 MHz range. Particle accelerators may be powered by S-band RF sources. The frequencies are then standardized at 2.998 GHz corresponding to a wavelength of 100 mm (Europe) or 2.856 GHz (US). The National

NEXRAD NEXRAD or Nexrad (Next-Generation Radar) is a network of 159 high-resolution S-band pulse-Doppler radar, Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service (NWS), an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ...

Radar network operates with S-band frequencies. Before implementation of this system, C-band frequencies were commonly used for weather surveillance. In the United States, the 3.55 to 3.7 GHz band is becoming shared spectrum under rules adopted by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

in April 2015 as a result of the National Broadband Plan (United States). The biggest user of CBRS ( Citizens Broadband Radio Service) spectrum is the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Cable companies are planning to use the band for wireless broadband in rural areas, with Charter Communications beginning tests of the service in January 2018. The band is also used as a transmit intermediate frequency in satellite communications as a replacement for L band where a single/shared coaxial connection is used between the modem/IDU and antenna/ODU for both the transmit and receive signals. This is to prevent interference between the transmit and receive signals which would otherwise not occur on a dual coaxial setup where the transmit and receive signals are separate and both can use the whole L-band frequency range. In a single coaxial connection using S-Band to "frequency shift" the transmit signal away from L band, a multiplier such as 10, is usually applied to form the SHF frequency. For example, the modem would transmit at 2.815 GHz IF (S Band) to the ODU and then the ODU up-converts this signal to 28.15 GHz SHF ( Ka Band) towards the satellite.

Optical communications

S band is also used in optical communications to refer to the wavelength range 1460 nm to 1530 nm.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:S Band Microwave bands Satellite broadcasting Telecommunications equipment