Short answer
The 1–2 GHz radio frequency band used by virtually every GNSS civilian signal. Most public GNSS signals cluster around 1176 MHz (L5/E5a/B2a), 1227 MHz (L2), 1561–1602 MHz (L1/E1/B1/GLONASS L1), and 1268–1278 MHz (B3I/E6).
Detailed explanation
L-band is the IEEE radar nomenclature for the 1–2 GHz portion of the radio spectrum. Almost all GNSS signals sit in L-band because the trade-offs work well: short enough wavelength (≈ 19 cm at 1575 MHz) for reasonable antenna sizes, long enough to penetrate light foliage and atmospheric attenuation, and far enough from terrestrial communications to avoid most interference.
The most important GNSS centres in L-band: 1176.45 MHz (GPS L5 / Galileo E5a / BeiDou B2a / SBAS L5 / NavIC L5 — the modern "common" wideband channel), 1207.14 MHz (Galileo E5b / BeiDou B2b/B2I), 1227.6 MHz (GPS L2 / GLONASS L2 region), 1268.52 MHz (BeiDou B3I), 1278.75 MHz (Galileo E6 / QZSS L6), 1561.098 MHz (BeiDou B1I), 1575.42 MHz (GPS L1 / Galileo E1 / BeiDou B1C / QZSS L1 / SBAS L1 — the universal civilian channel), 1602 MHz (GLONASS L1).
NavIC adds a unique S-band signal at 2492.028 MHz — the only major GNSS signal outside L-band. Most receivers ignore it.
A "multi-constellation, multi-frequency" antenna in datasheet terms means coverage from roughly 1166 MHz (L5 lower edge) through 1610 MHz (GLONASS L1 upper edge) — a 444 MHz fractional bandwidth of about 32 %, which drives the patch / helical / choke-ring design choices in every GNSource antenna line.
Try it interactively
GNSS Frequency Band Visualizer
Open the toolRelated terms
GNSS
Umbrella term for any constellation of satellites providing global positioning, navigation, and timing. The four global GNSS systems are GPS (US), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (EU), and BeiDou (China); QZSS (Japan) and NavIC (India) are regional.
Phase center
The apparent electrical centre of an antenna — the point from which signal range is effectively measured by a GNSS receiver. Phase-centre stability (the variation in this point as the signal arrival angle changes) is the single most important parameter for survey-grade and geodetic antennas.
Multipath
Distortion of a GNSS signal caused by reflections off nearby surfaces (buildings, ground, vehicles) arriving at the antenna nanoseconds after the direct path. Adds pseudorange noise of several metres in unmitigated urban environments — the dominant error source for many high-precision applications.