OK, so. What a mess. There are two separate radio services, which have become pretty intertwined.
In the beginning, there was GMRS, or the General Mobile Radio Service. It was eight frequency pairs in the 462 MHz range (with 467 MHz repeater inputs). An individual could get licensed and their family would be covered under the license. Up until the 1980s, businesses were also eligible for licenses. (A handful remain grandfathered.)
Radio Shack successfully lobbied the FCC to create a new service with channels in between the GMRS channels. E.g., GMRS has 462.65 and 462.675 MHz (25 kHz spacing); FRS put narrowband (12.5 kHz spacing) channels in between them at 462.6625 MHz. Since they sit in between the 8 GMRS frequencies, there were only 7 for each of 462 and the 467 MHz ranges, for a total of 14 channels. (Putting these in between the GMRS repeater inputs was not a great idea.)
To the chagrin of GMRS operators, FRS sold a ton of radios.
Manufacturers then began to push the limits, and started selling dual FRS/GMRS radios with 22 channels: the 14 FRS channels, and the 8 GMRS channels in the 462 MHz range which permitted simplex operation. Buried in the instructions that no one would read, they disclosed that using the GMRS frequencies required a license, but no one seemed to take notice. 22 is obviously better than 14, so those radios sold well.
The FCC eventually called bullshit on this, and reacted by… essentially legalizing what had been done, and raising power limits, making a further mess of things. The eight 462 MHz GMRS channels were added to FRS, but also exist in GMRS.
So here’s the whole sordid mess now. Note that GMRS doesn’t really have official channel numbers, but they’re commonly numbered in order.
| FRS Channel | Frequency | GMRS Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Channel 15 2 Watts | 462.550 MHz | GMRS 1 50 Watts |
| Channel 1 2 Watts | 462.5625 | GMRS 9? 5 Watts |
| Channel 16 2 Watts | 462.575 | GMRS 2 50 Watts |
| Channel 2 2 Watts | 462.5875 | GMRS 10? 5 Watts |
| Channel 17 2 Watts | 462.600 | GMRS 3 50 Watts |
| Channel 3 2 Watts | 462.6125 | GMRS 11? 5 Watts |
| Channel 18 2 Watts | 462.625 | GMRS 4 50 Watts |
| Channel 4 2 Watts | 462.6375 | GMRS 12? 5 Watts |
| Channel 19 2 Watts | 462.650 | GMRS 5 50 Watts |
| Channel 5 2 Watts | 462.6625 | GMRS 13? 5 Watts |
| Channel 20 2 Watts | 462.675 | GMRS 6 50 Watts |
| Channel 6 2 Watts | 462.6875 | GMRS 14? 5 Watts |
| Channel 21 2 Watts | 462.700 | GMRS 7 50 Watts |
| Channel 7 2 Watts | 462.7125 | GMRS 15? 5 Watts |
| Channel 22 2 Watts | 462.725 | GMRS 8 50 Watts |
| — | 467.550 MHz | Input to 1 |
| Channel 8 0.5 Watts | 467.5625 | 0.5W, 12.5 kHz |
| — | 467.575 | Input to 2 |
| Channel 9 0.5 Watts | 467.5875 | 0.5W, 12.5 kHz |
| — | 467.600 | Input to 3 |
| Channel 10 0.5 Watts | 467.6125 | 0.5W, 12.5 kHz |
| — | 467.625 | Input to 4 |
| Channel 11 0.5 Watts | 467.6375 | 0.5W, 12.5 kHz |
| — | 467.650 | Input to 5 |
| Channel 12 0.5 Watts | 467.6625 | 0.5W, 12.5 kHz |
| — | 467.675 | Input to 6 |
| Channel 13 0.5 Watts | 467.6875 | 0.5W, 12.5 kHz |
| — | 467.700 | Input to 7 |
| Channel 14 0.5 Watts | 467.7125 | 0.5W, 12.5 kHz |
| — | 467.725 | Input to 8 |
Range
Manufacturers make increasingly absurd claims about the range of radios. FRS radios are more or less line of sight. In a built-up urban environment, range may be less than half a mile.
Note that all (legal) FRS radios have the same output power limitations, and it’s based on effective power, so the impact of antenna design is minimal. (A more effective antenna would reduce allowed power.) So if one company advertises a 5 mile range and the other advertises 25 miles, the only difference between them is how brazen their marketing department is in making crap up.
With higher power levels and an allowance for external antennas, so you can have high-gain antennas and mount them on something, GMRS fares better. UHF is still predominantly line of sight; elevation is your friend. The difference between 25W and 50W is almost impossible to hear over the air, but the difference of raising an antenna above obstacles can be tremendous.
Business use
It is entirely legal to use FRS or GMRS radios for business use. The only caveat is that GMRS licenses don’t cover businesses (except for a very small number of grandfathered ones), so generally every employee must be separately licensed. Something like a family business, however, could easily fall under one person’s license.
§ 95.503 specifically allows business use of FRS.
§ 95.1731 includes “business activities” as a permissible GMRS use.
Shared use; no one owns a frequency
For a while I was in a Facebook group on GMRS, and this one generated occasional angst. There are 8 GMRS pairs. Setting a repeater up on one does not make it exclusively yours. Someone else can also set up a repeater on the same pair, or use the 462 MHz frequency for simplex. Malicious interference is illegal, no matter who set what up first.
Digital modes not permitted
You can only use FM voice (and some narrow allowances for GPS data and such that Garmin got added). DMR, NXDN, P25, etc. are illegal on GMRS (and FRS). So is encryption.
Family licensure; who’s included; not in one household
From § 95.1705(c)(2):
Any individual who holds an individual license may allow his or her immediate family members to operate his or her GMRS station or stations. Immediate family members are the licensee’s spouse, children, grandchildren, stepchildren, parents, grandparents, stepparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and in-laws.
Note that there is no requirement that they live in your household as I for some reason once thought. You probably don’t have you stepchildren, grandparents, aunt, and in-laws living in your house.
Part 90 vs Part 95
FRS radios have very restrictive certification, even preventing things like a removable antenna.
GMRS radios also require certification (see § 95.1761). Effectively, a GMRS radio must be specifically approved for use on GMRS by the FCC.
A handful of commercial radios covered under Part 90 (think Motorola or Kenwood land-mobile gear) are dual-certified, licensed under Part 90 and Part 95. Most are not, so using them on GMRS is technically illegal.
Enforcement is generally not strict (i.e., I have never heard of anyone being fined for it), and someone has apparently gotten the FCC to admit that it’s not really interested in trying to go after people using Part 90 gear on GMRS. But it’s a pet peeve of mine when people recommend technically-illegal gear to people without explaining this.
Repeater Linking
JFC this has been a weird source of controversy in the community. The FCC prohibits connecting GMRS stations with telephones (see § 95.1749), although there’s a weird clause allowing remote control.
People keep trying to link GMRS repeaters over the Internet and arguing about whether it is legal. Some have argued that using DSL or a T1 for such a purpose is illegal (as they are effectively delivered over the telephone network), but a cable or fiber connection is legal.The real question is, why are people even bothering to do this? If no one wants to talk to you on your GMRS repeater, take the hint instead of trying to tie it into the Internet.