40-meter band

The 40-meter or 7-MHz band is an amateur radio frequency band, spanning 7000-7300 kHz in ITU Region-2, and 7000-7200 kHz in Regions 1 & 3. It is allocated to radio amateurs worldwide on a primary basis.

40 meters is considered one of the most reliable all-season long distance communication (DX) bands.

History

The 40-meter band was made available to amateurs in the United States by the Third National Radio Conference on October 10, 1924, and allocated on a worldwide basis by the International Radiotelegraph Conference in Washington, D.C., on October 4, 1927.

For many years the portion of the band from 7100–7300 kHz has been allocated to short wave broadcasters outside the Americas, and not available to radio amateurs outside of ITU Region 2. At the World Radio Conference WRC-03 in 2003 it was agreed that the broadcast stations would move out of the section 7100–7200 kHz on 29 March 2009 and that portion would become a worldwide exclusive amateur allocation afterwards. Releasing the remaining 100 kHz of the band to amateurs at a later date is an IARU aim for future conferences.