Frequency bands are the range of frequencies that are used or allocated for radio services. There are two primary frequency bands defined for WiMax systems; 10 to 66 GHz (the original frequency band) and 2 to 11 GHz. The WiMax system was designed to allow operation on licensed or unlicensed radio channels.

A licensed frequency band is a range of frequencies that requires authorization for use (a license) from a regulatory agency or owner of the frequency band in a geographic area for permission to transmit radio signals in that area. Unlicensed frequency bands are a range of frequencies that can be used by any product or person provided the transmission conforms to transmission characteristics defined by the appropriate regulatory agency.