Legalize the 11-Meter Band – The Busiest Illegal Alley in the Spectrum
Legalize the 11-Meter Band – The Busiest Illegal Alley in the Spectrum
Between 27.405 and 27.999 MHz there is a slice of spectrum that, although it does not show up in most legal band plans, is more alive than plenty of officially recognized bands. It is radio’s backyard, the “pirate” 11-meter band, used for decades by unlicensed operators, truckers, DX enthusiasts, explorers of the airwaves, and even undercover radio amateurs. I would go so far as to say it is one of the busiest voice bands around today, especially when propagation cooperates.
In Spain, this slice is nominally allocated to “land mobile communication services”, but in practice those services have left it completely deserted. Neither companies nor public bodies actively use it. The result? A tolerated illegal activity, a vibrant community in the shadows, and a legal contradiction that makes no sense.
Pointing the finger
The people who complain most about the use of this band are, oddly enough, some licensed radio amateurs. They claim it is an invasion of the spectrum, that it breaks the rules, that it causes interference. But plenty of them have dipped into these 11 meters with their HF rigs more than once. The hypocrisy hangs in the air like QRM.
And what are they defending? A 10-meter band (28.000–29.700 MHz) that, outside of solar propagation peaks or the odd contest, stays as empty as an over-the-air TV channel at 4 a.m. Wouldn’t it make more sense to apply a bit of logic and pragmatism?
A serious, coherent proposal
The proposal is clear and workable:
- Drop the 10-meter band as amateur-radio-exclusive.
It sees barely any use, and the little that happens there could easily move to 11 meters. - Reassign the land mobile services to 28 MHz–29 MHz.
That way they would keep the same amount of spectrum they have now, losing nothing. - Legalize 27.405–27.999 MHz as a license-free citizens’ band.
Like 27 MHz CB, but with fewer restrictions. Recreational, technical and experimental use, no license required, with less restrictive transmit power and a wider choice of permitted antennas. - Let radio amateurs use this band too.
They would lose nothing by dropping the 10-meter band — quite the opposite: they would gain a band with far more activity to work.
Real, measurable benefits
- Democratic access to the spectrum: with no licenses or red tape, anyone could experiment and learn.
- Reviving radio culture: it is easier to attract young people when there is open space to play in, with no elitism.
- Less interference: regulating what already exists lets you keep better control of transmissions, not the other way around.
- Making use of a historic band: it has been in use for decades — the law just needs to catch up.
Legalizing 11 meters really does promote amateur radio; cheap Chinese walkies do not
Since the 2025 power blackout and the boom in cheap Chinese walkies, the official line on how to promote amateur radio seems to have gone off track. We are sold the idea that using a €20 walkie on 446 MHz (PMR) is the gateway to radio. But that is not amateur radio: it is pressing a button and talking 500 meters, or 10 km. No propagation, no technique, no magic.
Legalizing the 11-meter band, on the other hand, is a real springboard. It is learning to modulate in SSB, to put up a decent antenna, to get into digital modes, to play with propagation, to reach Italy or Brazil on a handful of watts. It plants technical curiosity and a spirit of exploration. It brings radio back to what it was: learning, community and experimentation.
CB in its legal segment has nothing left to give. And 10 meters is in a coma. Leaving the 11-meter band open as free space could be the best way for someone with no money and no license to catch the radio bug and end up, if they want to, earning their call sign.
What is the official position? The URE and the 11-meter spectrum
The Spanish Radio Amateurs Union (URE) represents around 8,000 radio amateurs in Spain and acts as the main point of contact with the government and CEPT, being the only national organization officially part of the IARU. Although it is very active in training and outreach — running contests, workshops, emergency-communications work, and backing educational projects like CanSat or GNU Radio — there is no solid evidence of a formal campaign on its part to legalize the 27.405–27.999 MHz band. URE forums are full of debate about the legal use of the traditional CB frequencies and about out-of-band call-sign limits, but no formal spectrum-reallocation proposals that would free up 11 meters have been put forward. It would be consistent for an organization aligned with radio education and innovation to push for:
- Officially legalizing 27.405–27.999 MHz for free recreational and experimental use.
- Reassigning the land mobile services (currently unused).
- Opening this space to radio amateurs, allowing hands-on activity without giving up any of their current frequencies.
A stance like that would cement the URE as a genuine driving force for amateur radio in Spain, showing it is willing to modernize and connect with the community beyond regulatory elitism.
What do we lose by not doing it?
Nothing. Literally nothing. The 27.405–27.999 segment is institutionally unused. The 10-meter band is empty. The activity already exists — just in the shadows. Legalizing it would not create a problem; it would bring it into the open and set a few basic rules.
And what do we gain? A larger community, more technical training, more global interaction, more radio culture and more young people hooked on the world of radio waves. Are we really going to keep clinging to an outdated law while the spectrum dies of boredom?
Time to legislate what already works
The 11-meter band does not need to be invented. It already exists, it is already in use, it already connects half the planet. All it needs is for the “pirate” stigma to be dropped and its value recognized. Not regulating what people already use is condemning it to chaos. And in a country where fewer and fewer people take an interest in radio, missing this chance would be as clumsy as insisting on using a fax machine in 2025.
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