RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

What are the 3 ISM bands?

The ISM bands, short for Industrial, Scientific and Medical radio bands, are
radio frequency ranges internationally reserved for unlicensed operation of
equipment that uses electromagnetic spectrum for non-communications
purposes. There are 3 main ISM frequency ranges defined internationally in
the below table:

Devices transmitting in these FCC-allocated license-free ISM spectrum bands

must accept any interference received, even from similar equipment. This
allows innovators developing devices like WiFi routers, Bluetooth
headphones, RFID scanners, microwave ovens and wireless sensors to quickly
build non-critical industrial and consumer electronics without undergoing
complicated frequency allocation control procedures.

We’ll explore key applications, regulations and innovations leveraging these

unlicensed ISM frequency ranges spurring growth of beneficial wireless
products and industrial equipment.

900 MHz ISM Band Overview

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

The 902 to 928 MHz ISM band falls in the UHF range worldwide covering a 26
MHz wide swath of radio frequencies corresponding to wavelengths between
32 cm down to 23 cm.

Given its long range propagation capabilities supporting strong building

material penetration alongside antenna design flexibility with manageable
wavelengths, historically manufacturers have used this license-free ISM
spectrum for early cordless phones, wireless alarm systems, RFID tracking and
data telemetry equipment. It continues seeing wide-ranging commercial and
industrial adoption today in products like smart electricity/gas/water meters
leveraging modern smart home automation protocols for municipal utility
monitoring.

Other prominent 900 MHz consumer product categories include:

 Wireless video streaming gadgets avoiding WiFi interference

 Long range drones, toys and gaming controllers

 Low power wide area (LPWA) Internet of Things (IoT) devices

 RF-controlled robotic toys beyond line-of-sight

This approx 1 GHz ISM range with suitable electronics design also enables
long-distance radar and wireless sensors useful in industrial environments.

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Here FCC radiation emission limits allow 1W (30 dBm) of equivalent

isotropically radiated power (EIRP) without needing additional site licensing.

2.4 GHz ISM Band Overview

The higher frequency ISM band spanning 2400 to 2483.5 MHz in the lower
SHF ranges features corresponding shorter wavelengths between 12.5 down to
10.6 cm.

Given the compact form factor of implementing antennas at these frequencies

alongside worldwide adoption, the 2.4 GHz ISM range has become nearly
synonymous with supporting popular wireless communications protocol
standards like:

 Bluetooth® — covering Classic v2.1 + EDR to latest Bluetooth® 5.2

versions utilizing fast frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS)
modulation across wider 40 channels with improved coexistence.

 WiFi® — wireless local area networking as codified under various

IEEE 802.11 standards like legacy 802.11b/g/n to latest WiFi 6E tapping
orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with higher
throughputs.

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

This reliable, interference-resilient mid 2 to 2.5 GHz frequency range will

continue seeing strong growth with upcoming WiFi 7 and next-gen Bluetooth®
direction finding location services capabilities.

Beyond radio communications, given the international interoperability of the

2.4 GHz ISM band, many products leverage the license-free frequencies for
industrial automation and process control equipment. Example industrial
usage include:

 Wireless sensor monitoring networks with mesh routing

 Building energy management systems and HVAC controls

 Automotive telemetry and asset tracking devices

The FCC permits 1W (30 dBm) of transmission power in the 2.4 GHz
consumer ISM band making integration of wireless capabilities easier at this
frequency.

5 GHz WiFi / U-NII Band Overview

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

The upper 5.7 to 5.8 GHz ISM band spectrum aligns with technical standards
for “Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure” aka U-NII radio band
designated specifically for wireless computer network data communications.
Most consumer WiFi® routers today support tapping portions of this
frequency range under protocols officially defined by the networking standard
IEEE 802.11a.

U-NII 1 BandU-NII 2U-NII 2eU-NII 3 BandsFrequency Range5150–5250

MHz5250–5350 MHz5470–5725 MHz5725–5850 MHzWiFi
Standards802.11ac / ax802.11ac / ax802.11ac / ax802.11a

The primary application leveraging this approx 6 GHz spectrum involves

supporting WiFi data networks and wireless internet broadband connectivity
through WiFi routers employing advanced 802.11ac Wave 2 and 802.11ax
high-efficiency wireless technology.

More recently, newer emerging IEEE standards like the latest WiFi 6E-enabled
consumer networking devices also tap into the higher 6E GHz bands for
increased multi-gigabit wireless transmission capacities enabling quicker large
file downloads and high-definition multimedia streaming capabilities.

This ability to leverage wider 160 to 80 MHz-wide channel bandwidth

allocations across the 5 GHz ISM frequencies (as compared to maximum 40
MHz-wide channels in 2.4 GHz) allows wireless network speeds exceeding
multiple Gbps bringing fiber-like wireless connectivity in home and office
environments.
PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/
 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

ISM Device Certification and Regulations

Given license-free accessibility to these FCC-governed ISM radio bands

commercially, any organization can build application leveraging designated
ranges after undergoing equipment testing and certification validation by
accredited labs.

During these electromagnetic compliance assessments, prototype devices

transmit across sweeps of intended operational frequencies while quantitative
behavioral metrics get measured on standards like spurious emissions,
radiated harmonics, output power levels, transient electrical responses etc per
chapter 47 of FCC Part 15 regulations.

Teams tune design factors like printed circuit board layout, clock circuitries,
power supply filtering, RF component selection and antenna integration to
ensure conformance before products get agency approvals for mass
production.

Below summarizesClasses A and B conducted and radiated emission

differentiation:

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Additionally, all ISM band transmitters by definition must accept any external
interference that may cause undesired operation. Nonetheless, leveraging
modulation schemes like DSSS and FHSS alongside mating hardware with
adequate channel filtering and consistent RF shielding ensures reliable
functionality.

ISM Band Radio Technologies

Several modulation technologies enable interference resilience allowing

short-range ISM band wireless signals to overcome noise in congested
environments alongside data encryption for protection:

Spread Spectrum Modulation

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

This approach spreads narrowband data signals across wider band channels
via scheme combinations like:

 Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) — Rapid carrier jumping

 Direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) — Fast pseudo-random code

mixing

Benefits include signal hiding, anti-jamming and redundancy gain.

Bluetooth® and some legacy WiFi® variants utilize forms of spread spectrum.

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)

Modern WiFi® standards divide available bandwidth into multiple

closely-spaced orthogonal subcarriers transmitting parallel bit streams
increasing symbol durations allowing sustained high data rates despite
interference.

Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)

Beyond phase shifting two carrier waves to encode four symbols, higher order
QAM like 256-QAM transmits eight bits per symbol transition significantly
increasing data rates. Trade-offs include greater signal-to-noise demands and
intersymbol interference susceptibility at these multi-Gbps wireless
networking transmission speeds.

Evolution of ISM Band Usage

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Early applications leveraging the ISM bands’ license-free ease of integration

focused on short-range industrial remote control devices. Over time additional
wireless capabilities got incorporated into products like manufacturing
equipment controls, medical monitors and RFID inventory management tools
laying the foundation for standardized modern connectivity protocols.

Proprietary Wireless Systems

 Cordless phones — 900 MHz band

 Wireless keyboards / mice — 27 MHz band

 RF-based asset tracking — 433 MHz band

Standardized Wireless Networks

 Bluetooth Mesh IoT — 2.4 GHz band

 Zigbee home automation — 2.4 GHz

 WiFi personal / enterprise — 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz

The emerging WiFi 6/6E standards usher multi-gigabit wireless capacities to

the ISM bands alongside other interconnectivity protocols like Thread and

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Z-Wave bridging compatibility gaps between proprietary ISM spectra

leveraging wireless devices.

Future Outlook

The ongoing expansion of use cases paired with technology advancements

around these tri-band ISM frequencies ensures continually increasing ubiquity
of wirelessly connected smart products and industrial equipment.

Higher throughput versions of Bluetooth® and WiFi® now permeate

consumer electronics realms while long-range 900 MHz LPWAN networks
enable massive scales of internet-connected infrastructure sensors across
metropolitan environments.

Additionally the adjacent 3.5 GHz band also called Citizen Broadband Radio
Service (CBRS) now under FCC “Part 96” spectrum-sharing policies promises
to spur wide-scale private enterprise wireless networking growth akin to the
flexibility of WiFi but with greater reliability and range.

Questions and Answers

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Q: Can WiFi® routers access all 3 main ISM bands simultaneously?

A: Modern WiFi 6E routers with tri-band support can transmit older 2.4GHz
channels for legacy device compatibility alongside faster 5GHz and 6GHz
bands for newest phones/laptops but require sufficient antennas and radio
frequency front-end electronics for wide simultaneous operation.

Q: What is an SRD device in the context of ISM equipment?

A: SRD stands for Short Range Device which alongside wideband and
narrowband designations classify license-free low power equipment operating
under set parameters across the ISM bands based on application to ensure
seamless spectrum sharing.

Q: Why are hybrid wireless meshes gaining popularity over older

standards?

A: Hybrid wireless mesh architectures that route packet data optimally across
layers of nodes combine WiFi, Bluetooth and proprietary ISM protocols like
Zigbee allowing flexibility to augment legacy installations while gaining
advantages of interoperability.

Q: How can Bluetooth® and WiFi® work reliably sharing the busy
2.4 GHz band?

A: Via adaptive frequency hopping, Bluetooth avoids interfering with fixed

WiFi channels. Meanwhile, WiFi leverages clear channel assessment to
transmit only when Bluetooth hops away temporarily. Together these
“co-existence” mechanisms allow smooth interoperation.

Q: What breakthroughs are enabling 60 GHz ISM spectrum

adoption?

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/

 RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

A: Advanced CMOS and antenna fabrication improvements now allow

cost-effective integration of high gain arrays overcoming path losses associated
with 60GHz allowing for multi-gigabit wireless links utilities like automotive
radar, backhaul and wireless docking.

Conclusion

In summary, the FCC-governed ISM radio bands spanning usage cases from
IoT sensors, to industrial telemetry, to wireless AV connectivity propelled by
ongoing WiFi and Bluetooth evolutions will continue flourishing given
license-free low barriers to spurring wide-ranging product innovations. Careful
testing and certification ensure reliable performance despite increasing
spectrum congestion. The decades ahead will usher even faster multi-Gbps
capabilities as wireless supplants wired connectivity.

PCB Manufacturing & Assembly Services https://www.raypcb.com/