Where can a PMR-446 be used?

PMR-446 (Private Mobile Radio) walkie-talkies are radios that use the UHF 446.00 - 446.2 MHz band, hence the name PMR-446. They can be used without a license or special authorization in the vast majority of European countries. By law, the free-use walkie-talkies have a power of 0.5 W and the antenna cannot be changed, but they still allow communications of a few kilometers in the open air and hundreds of meters in the city.

To improve the quality of communications and reduce the impact of other conversations on free-use channels, you can use or program CTCSS or DCS subtones in your PMR-446 radios. By using these subtones, you avoid listening to other conversations while you are communicating on a particular channel, but they are not protected communications: anyone can listen to your conversations on the free frequencies, but you will avoid annoying interference. The difference between the two systems is that CTCSS is an analog subtone system, while DCS is digital.

The use of these transceivers is authorized in all CEPT (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations) member countries, in particular these 46 countries: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City.

In other countries, the frequencies authorized for free use may be different. For example, in the United States and Canada, the Family Radio Service uses frequencies channeled around 462 and 467 MHz in UHF.

For your travels in Europe, you can find here all our walkies for free use our walkies for free use.