Ku band

Range of radio frequencies from 11-20 GHz IEEE Ku bandFrequency range12–18 GHzWavelength range2.5–1.67 cmRelated bandsJ (NATO)SHF (ITU) Radio bands ITU 1 (ELF) 2 (SLF) 3 (ULF) 4 (VLF) 5 (LF) 6 (MF) 7 (HF) 8 (VHF) 9 (UHF) 10 (SHF) 11 (EHF) 12 (THF) EU / NATO / US ECM A B C D E F G H I J K L M N IEEE HF VHF UHF L S C X Ku K Ka V W mm Other TV and radio I II III IV V VI vte The Ku band (/ˌkeɪˈjuː/) is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally German: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the original NATO K band, which was split into three bands (Ku, K, and Ka) because of the presence of the atmospheric water vapor resonance peak at 22.24 GHz, (1.35 cm) which made the center unusable for long range transmission. In radar applications, it ranges from 12 to 18 GHz according to the formal definition of radar frequency band nomenclature in IEEE Standard 521–2002. Ku band is primarily used for satellite communications, most notably the downlink used by direct broadcast satellites to broadcast satellite television, and for specific applications such as NASA's