Channels in a telecommunications sense are typically described as separate frequency bands in a broadband medium.

The most ubiquitous broadband medium is the radio-frequency spectrum, with channels allocated by international agreement.

Examples include:

  • North American TV Channel 2 = 55.25MHz
  • North American TV Channel 13= 211.25MHz
  • 802.11b Unlicensed channels 1-13 from 2412MHz to 2484MHz in 5MHz steps

See broadband and baseband

Note that (2003) current usage in Internet parlance includes "channels" in Internet Relay Chat (IRC) which are named and based upon digital distinction as opposed to analog distinction.