Frequencies Worldwide
CB radio is not a worldwide, standardized radio service like amateur radio. Each country decides if it wants to authorize such a radio service from its domestic frequency authorizations, and what its standards will be; however, similar radio services exist in many countries. Frequencies, power levels and modes (such as frequency modulation(FM), amplitude modulation(AM), and single-sideband modulation (SSB), often vary from country to country; use of foreign equipment may be illegal. However, many countries have adopted American frequencies.
The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) adopted the North American channel assignments, except Channel n° 23, Frequency 27.235 MHz ; Channel n° 24, Frequency 27.245 MHz ; Channel n° 25, Frequency 27.255 MHz. However, legal CB-Equipment sold in Europe does follow the North American channel designation. Some member countries permit additional modes and frequencies; for example, Germany has 40 additional channels at 26 MHz for a total of 80. The United Kingdom has an additional 40 channels between 27.60125 and 27.99125 MHz, also making 80 in total. Before CEPT, most member countries used a subset of the 40 US channels.
In Russia and Poland the channels are shifted 5 kHz down; for example, channel 30 is 27.300 MHz.Many operators add a switch to change between the "zeroes" (the Russian/Polish channel assignment) and the "fives" (the International/European assignment). Most contemporary radios for that markets can do "fives" as well as "zeroes" out of the box.
New Zealand and Japan have unique allocations, that do not correspond to those of any other country. New Zealand has also adopted the Australian UHF-CB-System as well. Indonesia has the usual 40 channels at 27 MHz, plus a unique 60-channel allocation from 142.050 MHz–143.525 MHz.
Using radios outside their intended market can be dangerous, as well as illegal as frequencies used by Citizen's Band radios from other countries may operate on frequencies close to, or used by, emergency services (For example, the Indonesian service around 142 MHz operates on frequencies allocated to a Public Safety network shared with Police, Fire and EMS services in Ontario, Canada).
| Channel | Frequency | Channel | Frequency | Channel | Frequency | Channel | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26.965 MHz | 11 | 27.085 MHz | 21 | 27.215 MHz | 31 | 27.315 MHz |
| 2 | 26.975 MHz | 12 | 27.105 MHz | 22 | 27.225 MHz | 32 | 27.325 MHz |
| 3 | 26.985 MHz | 13 | 27.115 MHz | 23 | 27.255 MHz | 33 | 27.335 MHz |
| 4 | 27.005 MHz | 14 | 27.125 MHz | 24 | 27.235 MHz | 34 | 27.345 MHz |
| 5 | 27.015 MHz | 15 | 27.135 MHz | 25 | 27.245 MHz | 35 | 27.355 MHz |
| 6 | 27.025 MHz | 16 | 27.155 MHz | 26 | 27.265 MHz | 36 | 27.365 MHz |
| 7 | 27.035 MHz | 17 | 27.165 MHz | 27 | 27.275 MHz | 37 | 27.375 MHz |
| 8 | 27.055 MHz | 18 | 27.175 MHz | 28 | 27.285 MHz | 38 | 27.385 MHz |
| 9 | 27.065 MHz | 19 | 27.185 MHz | 29 | 27.295 MHz | 39 | 27.395 MHz |
| 10 | 27.075 MHz | 20 | 27.205 MHz | 30 | 27.305 MHz | 40 | 27.405 MHz |
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