What frequencies do GPS and other GNSS use?

From RF Design Wiki · By the RF Design Wiki editorial team · Published October 21, 2026 · Last reviewed October 21, 2026 · How we research

GPS transmits on L1 at 1575.42 MHz, L2 at 1227.60 MHz and L5 at 1176.45 MHz.^[1] Galileo shares 1575.42 MHz (E1) and 1176.45 MHz (E5a) and adds E5b (1207.14 MHz) and E6 (1278.75 MHz).^[2] GLONASS legacy signals use FDMA around 1602 MHz (L1) and 1246 MHz (L2); BeiDou uses B1I at 1561.098 MHz among others.

How weak are GNSS signals?

IS-GPS-200 specifies a minimum received L1 C/A power of −158.5 dBW (−128.5 dBm) at the user antenna, well below the thermal noise in the 2 MHz signal bandwidth (about −111 dBm). The receiver recovers it through spreading gain of the correlation process.^[1]

What RF design considerations apply?

Low-noise front ends (NF around 1–2 dB system) and active antennas with LNAs and SAW filters.
Right-hand circular polarization antennas; ground-plane size affects multipath rejection.
Rejection of strong nearby cellular, Wi-Fi and own-device transmitters; harmonics of digital clocks falling at 1575 MHz.
TCXO references for stability.

Why are multi-frequency receivers used?

Measuring at two frequencies (e.g., L1 and L5) removes most ionospheric delay, which is dispersive, improving accuracy; L5/E5a also offer wider bandwidth for better multipath resolution.

Frequently asked questions

What is the GPS L1 frequency?

1575.42 MHz, which is 154 × 10.23 MHz.

Why are GNSS signals below the noise floor?

They are spread-spectrum signals recovered by correlation gain.

Does GPS use circular polarization?

Yes, right-hand circular.

References

Online sources accessed October 21, 2026; printed works cited by edition. See all sources.

“IS-GPS-200 / IS-GPS-705: Navstar GPS Space Segment / User Segment Interface Specifications”. U.S. Space Force / GPS Directorate. current revisions.
“Galileo Open Service Signal-In-Space Interface Control Document (OS SIS ICD)”. European Union / EUSPA. Issue 2.x.

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