the fm broadcast band, used for fm broadcast radio by radio stations, differs between different parts of the world. in europe and africa (itu region 1), it spans from 87.5 to 108.0 megahertz (mhz), while in the americas (itu region 2) it ranges from 87.9 to 107.9&nbsp;mhz, though only two low power stations are licensed for 87.9 mhz; normal full power stations start at 88.1. the fm broadcast band in japan uses 76.0 to 90&nbsp;mhz. the oirt band in eastern europe is from 65.8 to 74.0&nbsp;mhz, although these countries now primarily use the 87.5 to 108&nbsp;mhz band, as in the case of russia. some other countries have already discontinued the oirt band and have changed to the 87.5 to 108&nbsp;mhz band. frequency modulation radio originated in the united states during the 1930s; the system was developed by the american electrical engineer edwin howard armstrong. however, fm broadcasting did not become widespread even in north america until the 1960s. frequency-modulated radio waves can be generated at any frequency. all the bands mentioned in this article are in the very high frequency (vhf) band, which extends from 30 to 300&nbsp;mhz. in some languages, the vhf band is referred to as "ukw"/"ukf" (from the german ultrakurzwelle, polish ultra krÃ³tkie faleâ"ultra short wave") or "Ð£ÐÐ" (from the russian Ð£Ð»ÑÑÑÐ°ÐºÐ¾ÑÐ¾ÑÐºÐ¸Ðµ Ð²Ð¾Ð»Ð½Ñ). ==ccir bandplan== ===center frequencies=== while all countries use fm channel center frequencies ending in 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9&nbsp;mhz, some countries also use center frequencies ending in 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8&nbsp;mhz. a few others also use 0.05, 0.15, 0.25, 0.35, 0.45, 0.55, 0.65, 0.75, 0.85, and 0.95&nbsp;mhz. an itu conference in geneva, switzerland, on december 7, 1984, resolved to discontinue the use of 50&nbsp;khz channel spacings throughout europe.http://ukspec.tripod.com * most countries have used 100&nbsp;khz or 200&nbsp;khz channel spacings for fm broadcasting since this itu conference in 1984. * some digitally-tuned fm radios are unable to tune using 50&nbsp;khz increments. therefore when traveling abroad, stations that broadcast on certain frequencies using such increments may not be heard clearly. this problem will not affect reception on an analog-tuned radio. * a few countries, such as italy, which have heavily-congested fm bands, still allow a station on any multiple of 50&nbsp;khz wherever one can be squeezed in. * the 50&nbsp;khz channel spacings help prevent [[co-channel inte
Bandplans Broadcast_engineering