Bluetooth Frequency Bands

Bluetooth operates in the globally available, license-free 2.4 GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band, which spans from 2400 MHz to 2483.5 MHz. Within this range, Bluetooth specifically uses the 2402 MHz to 2480 MHz portion for communication.

Bluetooth Classic (BR/EDR) operates from 2402 MHz to 2480 MHz and uses 79 channels, each 1 MHz wide. The channels are numbered 0 to 78.

Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) operates from 2402 MHz to 2480 MHz as well but has 40 channels, each 2 MHz wide. Channels are numbered 0 to 39. 37 channels are used for data transfer while 3 channels are used for advertising i.e for device discovery and connection setup.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is currently working on expanding Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) into additional unlicensed mid-band spectrum, specifically the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands.

This specification development project was launched in 2022 and is still ongoing. The goal is to extend Bluetooth LE's capabilities to handle growing data demands and future wireless applications. The 6 GHz band is particularly important, as it offers more bandwidth and reduced interference—key to enabling the next generation of Bluetooth innovation.

To ensure smooth coexistence with Wi-Fi (which also uses 5 GHz and 6 GHz), Bluetooth SIG is actively collaborating with the Wi-Fi Alliance.