HF Antenna

CB Frequencies/Channels from Around the World
Author: Frederick R. Vobbe, W8HDU
Updated: June 18, 2021

Many countries have their own "band plan" for the Citizen Band radio service. They may differ in use, power, modulation type, and frequency/channel.

Some countries still license users, while other allow free use as long as the user obeys technical standards.

Since I have many friends who dabble in CB, and monitor long range communications, I thought I would translate some of the frequency charts I had from a decade or more ago.

A brief check says that this info is still up to date. The following chart shows the channel numbers, frequencies, and sometimes the specified use in various countries around the world, including the United States. Footnotes are included where necessary.

Chan	USA and	Canada	Chan	Japan	Chan	Germany	Chan	Germany
	MHz	Use & Format		MHz & Use		AM/FM-4w		FM-4w
1	26.9650	General use [AM]	1	26.9680 General use	1	26.9650	41	26.5650
2	26.9750	General use [AM]	2	26.9760 General use	2	26.9750	42	26.5750
3	26.9850	General use [AM]	3	27.0400 General use	3	26.9850	43	26.5850
4	27.0050	Jeep/4x4/Off Road [AM]	4	27.0800 General use	4	27.0050	44	26.5950
5	27.0150	General use [AM]	5	27.0880 General use	5	27.0150	45	26.6050
6	27.0250	General use [AM]	6	27.1120 General use	6	27.0250	46	26.6150
7	27.0350	General use [AM]	7	27.1200 General use	7	27.0350	47	26.6250
8	27.0550	General use [AM]	8	27.1440 Chan 8 Calling	8	27.0550	48	26.6350
9	27.0650	Emergency Only [AM]	1RC	27.0480 R/C Frequency	9	27.0650	49	26.6450
10	27.0750	Mobile State/US HWY [AM]	2RC	27.1360 R/C Frequency	10	27.0750	50	26.6550
11	27.0850	General use [AM]	3RC	27.1520 R/C Frequency	11	27.0850	51	26.6650
12	27.1050	General use [AM]			12	27.1050	52	26.6750
13	27.1150	Marine & RV [AM]	Chan	India AM/FM 4w	13	27.1150	53	26.6850
14	27.1250	Low Power Walkie Talkies [AM]	1	26.9650 General Use	14	27.1250	54	26.6950
15	27.1350	General use [AM]	2	26.9750 General Use	15	27.1350	55	26.7050
16	27.1550	General Use {AM or SSB]	3	26.9850 General Use	16	27.1550	56	26.7150
17	27.1650	Trucker North/South hwy [AM]	4	27.0050 General Use	17	27.1650	57	26.7250
18	27.1750	General use [AM]	5	27.0150 General Use	18	27.1750	58	26.7350
19	27.1850	Trucker East/West hwy [AM]	6	27.0250 General Use	19	27.1850	59	26.7450
20	27.2050	General use [AM]	7	27.0350 General Use	20	27.2050	60	26.7550
21	27.2150	State/US Highways [AM]	8	27.0550 General Use	21	27.2150	61	26.7650
22	27.2250	General use [AM]	9	27.0650 General Use	22	27.2250	62	26.7750
23	27.2550	General use [AM]	10	27.0750 General Use	23	27.2550	63	26.7850
24	27.2350	General use [AM]	11	27.0850 General Use	24	27.2350	64	26.7950
25	27.2450	General use [AM]	12	27.1050 General Use	25	27.2450	65	26.8050
26	27.2650	General use [AM]	13	27.1150 General Use	26	27.2650	66	26.8150
27	27.2750	General use [AM]	14	27.1250 General Use	27	27.2750	67	26.8250
28	27.2850	General use [AM]	15	27.1350 General Use	28	27.2850	68	26.8350
29	27.2950	General use [AM]	16	27.1550 General Use	29	27.2950	69	26.8450
30	27.3050	General use [AM]	17	27.1650 General Use	30	27.3050	70	26.8550
31	27.3150	General use [AM]	18	27.1750 General Use	31	27.3150	71	26.8650
32	27.3250	General use [AM]	19	27.1850 General Use	32	27.3250	72	26.8750
33	27.3350	General use [AM]	20	27.2050 General Use	33	27.3350	73	26.8850
34	27.3450	General use [AM]	21	27.2150 General Use	34	27.3450	74	26.8950
35	27.3550	General use [AM]	22	27.2250 General Use	35	27.3550	75	26.9050
36	27.3650	General Use [AM or SSB]	23	27.2550 General Use	36	27.3650	76	26.9150
37	27.3750	General Use [AM or SSB]	24	27.2350 General Use	37	27.3750	77	26.9250
38	27.3850	General Use [AM or LSB SSB]	25	27.2450 General Use	38	27.3850	78	26.9350
39	27.3950	General Use [AM or SSB]	26	27.2650 General Use	39	27.3950	79	26.9450
40	27.4050	General Use [AM or SSB]	27	27.2750 General Use	40	27.4050	80	26.9550

Chan	U.S.A.	U.S.A.	Chan	Survivalist/Prepper Special Channels
	MHz	Use & Format	1	26.0100 T1 - Freeband, AM/FM/SSB/Data. Typically secure comms.
3A	26.9950	RCRS service/Remote Control	2	26.0200 T2 - Freeband, AM/FM/SSB/Data. Typically secure comms.
7A	27.0450	RCRS service/Remote Control	3	26.9850 - CB Band channel 3, AM. Typically non-secure comms.
11A	27.0950	RCRS service/Remote Control	4	27.3750 - CB Band channel 37, USB. Typically non-secure comms.
15A	27.1450	RCRS service/Remote Control	5	27.4250 "Chan 42" - Freeband, USB. Typically semi-secure comms.
19A	27.1950	RCRS service/Remote Control	6	28.3050 Amateur Radio, USB. Typically non-secure comms.

United States Channel 9 Operation

Channel 9 may be used ONLY for emergency communications OR for traveler assistance.
You must, at all times and on ALL channels, give priority to emergency communication messages concerning the immediate safety of life or the immediate protection of property.
You may use ANY channel for emergency communications or for traveler assistance.

United States CB Band Plan

This plan is voluntary, but recommended, as CB users follow this structure. It is not F.C.C. mandated.
Channel 4 generally used by off-road enthusiasts to keep track of their location, call for assistance, or give a heads up to those in the area where blind turns or terrain elevation may obscure other vehicles.
Channel 10 is often used for driver to driver communications on state and county roadways.
Channel 13 is used by private maritime or RV owners for communications between each other, or to contact docking or campsite operation.
Channel 17 is used by truckers and motorists traveling federal highway systems, North/South routes.
Channel 19 is used by truckers and motorists traveling federal highway systems, East/West routes.
Channel 21 is used by truckers and motorists traveling federal highway systems, no specific route direction.
Channel 36 - 40 is generally accepted to be the Single Sideband (SSB) channels. Typically Lower Sideband (LSB) is used, but Upper Sideband (USB) is also legal.

Radio Control Radio Service (RCRS)

The RCRS service is commonly used for remote control of model aircraft and boats.
Normally not part of FCC Type Accepted CB radios, the channel is the next lower standard channel, along with a suffix "A".
Some CB's have used these channels for speaking, but in recent years Packet Digital transmissions have been noted in the AM or FM mode, thought to be by survivalists communicating between each other.

Survivalists & Preppers

Definition: Survivalists: One who prepares for possible dangers such as natural disasters, societal collapse, or nuclear war, as by stockpiling necessary supplies or acquiring survival skills. Or, A person who believes in being prepared to survive and is actively preparing for possible future emergencies and disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order.
Definition: Prepper: A person who believes a catastrophic disaster or emergency is likely to occur in the future, and makes active preparations for it, typically by stockpiling food, guns & ammunition, medical and other supplies. Some preppers have gone to extreme means to keep their communications from being heard by the general, larger non-prepper population.
Many groups consist of ex-military, or military-like individuals who are NOT terrorists or nefarious in any way. Members of this culture use radios typically for communications between each other, or close friends and family members. Some transmissions are made outside the F.C.C. technical rules in what is called SHTF-Comms. The transmissions can be outside normal frequency limits, above power restrictions, modulation not approved for transmission, (ie: digital and/or encrypted), encrypted voice (inverted speech), encrypted data, or RTTY. In one case CB frequencies were used for cross-band repeaters.

	Czech Republic & Hungary			United Kingdom		New Zealand		Poland			Brazil
Chan	MHz.	Chan	MHz.	Chan	MHz.	Chan	MHz.	Chan	MHz.	Chan	MHz	Chan	MHz
1	26.9650	41	26.5650	1	27.601250	1	26.3300	1	26.9600	1	26.9650	41	27.4150
2	26.9750	42	26.5750	2	27.611250	2	26.3400	2	26.9700	2	26.9750	42	27.4250
3	26.9850	43	26.5850	3	27.621250	3	26.3500	3	26.9800	3	26.9850	43	27.4350
4	27.0050	44	26.5950	4	27.631250	4	26.3700	4	27.0000	4	27.0050	44	27.4550
5	27.0150	45	26.6050	5	27.641250	5	26.3800	5	27.0100	5	27.0150	45	27.4650
6	27.0250	46	26.6150	6	27.651250	6	26.3900	6	27.0200	6	27.0250	46	27.4750
7	27.0350	47	26.6250	7	27.661250	7	26.4000	7	27.0300	7	27.0350	47	27.4850
8	27.0550	48	26.6350	8	27.671250	8	26.4200	8	27.0500	8	27.0550	48	27.5050
9	27.0650	49	26.6450	9	27.681250	9	26.4300	9	27.0600	9	27.0650	49	27.5150
10	27.0750	50	26.6550	10	27.691250	10	26.4400	10	27.0700	10	27.0750	50	27.5250
11	27.0850	51	26.6650	11	27.701250	11	26.4500	11	27.0800	11	27.0850	51	27.5350
12	27.1050	52	26.6750	12	27.711250	12	26.4700	12	27.1000	12	27.1050	52	27.5550
13	27.1150	53	26.6850	13	27.721250	13	26.4800	13	27.1100	13	27.1150	53	27.5650
14	27.1250	54	26.6950	14	27.731250	14	26.4900	14	27.1200	14	27.1250	54	27.5750
15	27.1350	55	26.7050	15	27.741250	15	26.5000	15	27.1300	15	27.1350	55	27.5850
16	27.1550	56	26.7150	16	27.751250	16	26.5200	16	27.1500	16	27.1550	56	27.6050
17	27.1650	57	26.7250	17	27.761250	17	26.5300	17	27.1600	17	27.1650	57	27.6150
18	27.1750	58	26.7350	18	27.771250	18	26.5400	18	27.1700	18	27.1750	58	27.6250
19	27.1850	59	26.7450	19	27.781250	19	26.5500	19	27.1800	19	27.1850	59	27.6350
20	27.2050	60	26.7550	20	27.791250	20	26.5700	20	27.2000	20	27.2050	60	27.6550
21	27.2150	61	26.7650	21	27.801250	21	26.5800	21	27.2100	21	27.2150	61	27.6650
22	27.2250	62	26.7750	22	27.811250	22	26.5900	22	27.2200	22	27.2250	62	27.6750
23	27.2550	63	26.7850	23	27.821250	23	26.6200	23	27.2500	23	27.2550	63	27.6850
24	27.2350	64	26.7950	24	27.831250	24	26.6000	24	27.2300	24	27.2350	64	27.6950
25	27.2450	65	26.8050	25	27.841250	25	26.6100	25	27.2400	25	27.2450	65	27.7050
26	27.2650	66	26.8150	26	27.851250	26	26.6300	26	27.2600	26	27.2650	66	27.7150
27	27.2750	67	26.8250	27	27.861250	27	26.6400	27	27.2700	27	27.2750	67	27.7250
28	27.2850	68	26.8350	28	27.871250	28	26.6500	28	27.2800	28	27.2850	68	27.7350
29	27.2950	69	26.8450	29	27.881250	29	26.6600	29	27.2900	29	27.2950	69	27.7450
30	27.3050	70	26.8550	30	27.891250	30	26.6700	30	27.3000	30	27.3050	70	27.7550
31	27.3150	71	26.8650	31	27.901250	31	26.6800	31	27.3100	31	27.3150	71	27.7650
32	27.3250	72	26.8750	32	27.911250	32	26.6900	32	27.3200	32	27.3250	72	27.7750
33	27.3350	73	26.8850	33	27.921250	33	26.7000	33	27.3300	33	27.3350	73	27.7850
34	27.3450	74	26.8950	34	27.931250	34	26.7100	34	27.3400	34	27.3450	74	27.7950
35	27.3550	75	26.9050	35	27.941250	35	26.7200	35	27.3550	35	27.3550	75	27.8050
36	27.3650	76	26.9150	36	27.951250	36	26.7300	36	27.3600	36	27.3650	76	27.8150
37	27.3750	77	26.9250	37	27.961250	37	26.7400	37	27.3700	37	27.3750	77	27.8250
38	27.3850	78	26.9350	38	27.971250	38	26.7500	38	27.3800	38	27.3850	78	27.8350
39	27.3950	79	26.9450	39	27.981250	39	26.7600	39	27.3900	39	27.3950	79	27.8450
40	27.4050	80	26.9550	40	27.991250	40	26.7700	40	27.4000	40	27.4050	80	27.8550

Germany, Czech Republic, & Hungary

AM, FM & SSB are allowed on channels 1-40. FM mode only (4 watt power limit) on the 26.565-26.955 MHz portion of band.
Digital modes allowed on 26.675 MHz, 26.685 MHz, 26.915 MHz and 26.925 MHz in Germany. (Channels 52, 53, 76 and 77).
Designated channels 41-80 (channels 1-40 are the US/CEPT standardized channels).

United Kingdom

27.601250 MHz to 27.999999 MHz allocation overlaps with CADS/WPAS and other services in various nations outside the U.K. including paging/telemetry modulation.
FM band is defined under UK law as 27.59625 MHz to 27.99625 MHz (indicating maximum 5 kHz deviation from center frequencies, regular two-way radio or land mobile FM).
AM, FM and SSB are allowed on 26.96500 to 27.40500 MHz.
FM with 5.0 KHz deviation can only be used on 27.601250 to 27.991250 MHz, straight 10 KHz channel steps, no gaps or sequences like the middle portion of the 40 Channel CB band.

New Zealand

Channels 1 to 17, and 25 to 40, are AM/SSB communications.
Channels 18 to 24 are AM only.
Channel 11 is for large trucks on highways.
Channel 15 is the AM calling channel.
Channel 35 is the SSB calling channel, in LSB only.

Poland

Polish CB is the same as the EU standard/American CB band plan.
Exception: Channel 19 is 27.18000 MHz instead of 27.18500 MHz. Channel 20 is 27.20000 MHz instead of 27.20500 MHz.
FM was originally only allowed in Poland, but now AM & FM are allowed.

Brazil

Channels 1-40 are the same as the U.S. F.C.C./CEPT channels.
27.44500, 27.49500, 27.54500, 27.59500, and 27.64500 MHz are not used in this channel plan; but they are heavily used in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, (unofficially).

					Russia and former Soviet States
Chan	"R" Frequencies	"E" Frequencies	Chan	"R" Frequencies	"E" Frequencies	Chan	"R" Frequencies	"E" Frequencies	Chan	"R" Frequencies	"E" Frequencies
B01	26.5100	26.5150	B30	26.8500	26.8550	C20	27.2000	27.2050	D10	27.5200	27.5250
B02	26.5200	26.5250	B31	26.8600	26.8650	C21	27.2100	27.2150	D11	27.5300	27.5350
B03	26.5300	26.5350	B32	26.8700	26.8750	C22	27.2200	27.2250	D11A	27.5400	27.5450
B03A	26.5400	26.5450	B33	26.8800	26.8850	C23	27.2300	27.2350	D12	27.5500	27.5550
B04	26.5500	26.5550	B34	26.8900	26.8950	C24	27.2400	27.2450	D13	27.5600	27.5650
B05	26.5600	26.5650	B35	26.9000	26.9050	C25	27.2500	27.2550	D14	27.5700	27.5750
B06	26.5700	26.5750	B36	26.9100	26.9150	C26	27.2600	27.2650	D15	27.5800	27.5850
B07	26.5800	26.5850	B37	26.9200	26.9250	C27	27.2700	27.2750	D15A	27.5900	27.5950
B07A	26.5900	26.5950	B38	26.9300	26.9350	C28	27.2800	27.2850	D16	27.6000	27.6050
B08	26.6000	26.6050	B39	26.9400	26.9450	C29	27.2900	27.2950	D17	27.6100	27.6150
B09	26.6100	26.6150	B40	26.9500	26.9550	C30	27.3000	27.3050	D18	27.6200	27.6250
B10	26.6200	26.6250	C01	26.9600	26.9650	C31	27.3100	27.3150	D19	27.6300	27.6350
B11	26.6300	26.6350	C02	26.9700	26.9750	C32	27.3200	27.3250	D19A	27.6400	27.6450
B11A	26.6400	26.6450	C03	26.9800	26.9850	C33	27.3300	27.3350	D20	27.6500	27.6550
B12	26.6500	26.6550	C03A	26.9900	26.9950	C34	27.3400	27.3450	D21	27.6600	27.6650
B13	26.6600	26.6650	C04	27.0000	27.0050	C35	27.3500	27.3550	D22	27.6700	27.6750
B14	26.6700	26.6750	C05	27.0100	27.0150	C36	27.3600	27.3650	D23	27.6800	27.6850
B15	26.6800	26.6850	C06	27.0200	27.0250	C37	27.3700	27.3750	D24	27.6900	27.6950
B15A	26.6900	26.6950	C07	27.0300	27.0350	C38	27.3800	27.3850	D25	27.7000	27.7050
B16	26.7000	26.7050	C07A	27.0400	27.0450	C39	27.3900	27.3950	D26	27.7100	27.7150
B17	26.7100	26.7150	C08	27.0500	27.0550	C40	27.4000	27.4050	D27	27.7200	27.7250
B18	26.7200	26.7250	C09	27.0600	27.0650	D01	27.4100	27.4150	D28	27.7300	27.7350
B19	26.7300	26.7350	C10	27.0700	27.0750	D02	27.4200	27.4250	D29	27.7400	27.7450
B19A	26.7400	26.7450	C11	27.0800	27.0850	D03	27.4300	27.4350	D30	27.7500	27.7550
B20	26.7500	26.7550	C11A	27.0900	27.0950	D03A	27.4400	27.4450	D31	27.7600	27.7650
B21	26.7600	26.7650	C12	27.1000	27.1050	D04	27.4500	27.4550	D32	27.7700	27.7750
B22	26.7700	26.7750	C13	27.1100	27.1150	D05	27.4600	27.4650	D33	27.7800	27.7850
B23	26.7800	26.7850	C14	27.1200	27.1250	D06	27.4700	27.4750	D34	27.7900	27.7950
B24	26.7900	26.7950	C15	27.1300	27.1350	D07	27.4800	27.4850	D35	27.8000	27.8050
B25	26.8000	26.8050	C15A	27.1400	27.1450	D07A	27.4900	27.4950	D36	27.8100	27.8150
B26	26.8100	26.8150	C16	27.1500	27.1550	D08	27.5000	27.5050	D37	27.8200	27.8250
B27	26.8200	26.8250	C17	27.1600	27.1650	D09	27.5100	27.5150	D38	27.8300	27.8350
B28	26.8300	26.8350	C18	27.1700	27.1750				D39	27.8400	27.8450
B29	26.8400	26.8450	C19	27.1800	27.1850				D40	27.8500	27.8550
			C19A	27.1900	27.1950

Editor Note: I've included Russia, albeit it seems to be constantly changing, with some stations on non-assigned frequencies, and even some carryover to the Ukraine, and other border countries. I'm primarily including it since transmissions have been heard in Alaska, and coastal British Columbia.

Russia

Russia as two sets of 120 channels for a total of 240 channels. Sellers on Amazon, Aliexpress, etc, will designate radios as "Export" or "RU Versions". 25.000 to 30.000 MHz is filled with CB, and CB-like traffic, because many radios can be opened up to transmit on all 5 MHz of spectum.
AM and FM is allowed, but SSB is often heard, thought to be maritime, or military operations.
Russian taxi cab dispatchers are heard all over central Europe in 12-meters (24.8900 to 24.9900 MHz), mostly during daytime, but peaks in the night during solar maximum. Signals propagates due to Sporadic E and by F2 propagation. 12-meters is one of the WARC amateur radio bands.
Some base stations are thought to operate in excess of 1,000 watts using surplus amplifiers.
Popular frequencies heard in North America include: 26.71500 (Chelyabinsk); 26.93500 (unknown, but speaking Russian); 26.97000 (Mentioning locations in Lithuania); 26.97500 & 26.98500 (Samara), 26.98500 (Tver); and 27.00000 (Kiev, Ukraine)
More info can be found on SWL sites, and in European CB radio sources.

Special Low Band Business Frequencies (FCC Part 90)

Chan

MHz.

Description

Chan

MHz.

Channel

27.4300