There are a lot of choices when it comes to buying cordless phones, but two of the most common options you’ll see are 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz. What does this mean, and why should you care?

All cordless phones operate on a frequency, like radio waves.  As frequencies get more crowded, the Federal Communications Council (FCC) will open another one so that consumer goods can move to one with less intereference.  When cordless phones first came out they operated in the 46 – 49 MHz spectrum, but when those got crowded with remote control cars, walkie talkies and the such, they moved to 900 MHz.

It was after 900 MHz filled up that they moved to 2.4 GHz, and with the increased range, and lack of devices in that area, things seemed fine… and then Wi-Fi popped up.  The wireless computer technology has quickly gobbled up that frequency, and while some have reported interference issues, I never saw it happen when I still had a phone in that range.  5.8 GHz is still fairly new, well out of the Wi-Fi range, and seems to be doing swimingly well for the time being.

So, if you are looking for a new cordless phone, even if you do not have Wi-Fi in your house, your neighbors very well might, so we highly recommend making sure you go ahead and head into the 5.8 GHz range.