UK Frequency Reference

UK Cellular Frequency Bands 2026

Complete reference for UK 4G LTE and 5G NR frequency bands. Which operators use which bands. What your IoT antenna must cover.

B1-B28

4G LTE bands in UK use

n28-n78

5G NR bands in UK

700 MHz

Best penetration, Band 20/n28

3500 MHz

Primary 5G, n78

UK 4G LTE Frequency Band Reference

Band	Frequency	EE	O2	Vodafone	Three
B1	2100 MHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
B3	1800 MHz	Yes	Limited	Yes	Limited
B7	2600 MHz	Yes	No	Yes	No
B8	900 MHz	No	Yes	Yes	No
B20	800 MHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
B28	700 MHz	Yes	Limited	Limited	Yes
B32	1500 MHz	Yes	No	No	No

UK 5G NR Frequency Band Reference

Band	Frequency	EE	O2	Vodafone	Three
n1	2100 MHz	Yes	No	No	No
n3	1800 MHz	Yes	No	Yes	No
n28	700 MHz	Yes	No	No	Yes
n78	3500 MHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Antenna Coverage: What You Actually Need

4G IoT antenna minimum: 700-2700 MHz. This covers Band 28 (700 MHz), Band 20 (800 MHz), Band 8 (900 MHz), Band 3 (1800 MHz), Band 1 (2100 MHz), and Band 7 (2600 MHz). Every UK 4G band for every operator.

4G + 5G IoT antenna minimum: 700-3800 MHz. This adds n78 (3500 MHz) and n28 (700 MHz) 5G NR coverage on top of all 4G bands. This is the specification to use for all new IoT hardware designs in 2026.

For specific antenna products covering these ranges, see 4G antenna selection and 5G antenna selection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which 4G band is most important for UK rural IoT deployments?

Band 20 at 800 MHz. It has the best building and terrain penetration of any UK 4G band and is available from all four major operators. Band 28 at 700 MHz is even better for penetration and is being deployed by EE and Three — coverage is expanding but not yet as comprehensive as Band 20. Any rural UK IoT antenna must cover 700-900 MHz.

What is the minimum frequency range for a UK IoT antenna?

For 4G only: 700-2700 MHz covers all UK LTE bands. For 4G + 5G: 700-3800 MHz covers all 4G and 5G Sub-6GHz bands in use in 2026. Antennas labelled 617-5000 MHz or 698-4000 MHz provide future-proofing. An antenna that only covers 800-2100 MHz is missing Band 20 low edge, Band 3 high edge, and all 5G n78.

Do I need to worry about band steering on my IoT router?

Band steering is primarily a WiFi term. For cellular IoT, the equivalent is band locking or preferred band configuration. Some industrial routers (Teltonika, Peplink) allow you to lock to specific bands. This is useful when you know your deployment is best served by Band 20 (rural) or Band 3 (urban) and want to prevent the modem from connecting on a weaker band first.

Talk to Peter Green

Tell me your router model, location, and application. I will specify the right antenna.

Request Technical Quote Call Direct