Free tool · Data & IoT
EARFCN and NR-ARFCN converter
Convert LTE and 5G channel numbers to band and frequency, and back, with NB-IoT and LTE-M bands marked.
Bands and formulas of 3GPP TS 36.101 and TS 38.101, Release 18.
How this works and its limits
Runs in your browser: what you enter stays on your device and is never uploaded.
Conversions use the channel-raster formulas and band definitions of 3GPP TS 36.101 and 38.101, implemented as our own tables. Each result shows the band, the uplink and downlink frequencies and the duplex mode.
A channel number tells you the frequency a cell uses, not whether a given module supports that band; check the module’s band list for that.
Data sources and licences
Operator names, brands and codes shown here are public reference data compiled from national regulators and other public sources. Their appearance does not indicate any partnership, endorsement, agreement or connectivity between unicomam.com and the named operators. All trademarks belong to their owners. Data is provided “as is” with no warranty; verify against the official source before relying on it for routing, billing or compliance decisions.
Regulatory information is for reference only and is not legal advice; check the regulator link and the “last verified” date.
Calculations follow 3GPP TS 23.038 / 23.003 / 27.007 / 36.101 / 38.101 (Release 18). This tool is not affiliated with or endorsed by 3GPP or ETSI.
What EARFCN and NR-ARFCN are
An EARFCN is the channel number of an LTE carrier and an NR-ARFCN the channel number of a 5G NR carrier. Cells advertise these numbers instead of a frequency in megahertz, and modem logs, engineering screens and drive-test tools show them, so converting them is the first step in many field investigations.
For LTE, each band has a lowest frequency and a channel offset. The downlink frequency is the band's lowest downlink frequency plus 0.1 MHz for every step above the band's first channel number, and the uplink works the same way with its own offset. Channel 9435, for example, falls in band 28: 780.5 MHz down, paired with 725.5 MHz up. Channel numbers of different LTE bands never overlap, so a number always names exactly one band and direction.
For 5G NR, the channel number sits on a global raster that covers every band at once: steps of 5 kHz below 3 GHz, 15 kHz from 3 to 24.25 GHz and 60 kHz above. Each band then uses a coarser channel raster, such as 100 kHz in most bands below 3 GHz or 15 and 30 kHz in the mid-band, so only some numbers are valid channels in a given band. Band n78, from 3300 to 3800 MHz, runs from NR-ARFCN 620000 to 653333.
Many bands overlap or extend one another, for example band 66 covers band 4 and band 25 covers band 2, and the same frequency can also belong to an LTE band and a 5G band. That is why converting a frequency returns every band that contains it, each with its own channel number. Which band a cell actually uses is the operator's choice.
The NB-IoT and LTE-M marks show the LTE bands the specifications allow for those technologies. They say what is possible, not what an operator runs: whether a network offers NB-IoT or LTE-M on a band, and whether a module supports that band, are separate questions to check before a device ships.