It might be worthwhile to keep an ear on the PMR446 frequencies. PMR446 is the EU equivalent of the USA's Family Radio Service (FRS) but operates in the 446.0 to 446.1 MHz area. PMR446 has been harmonized across most of Europe. You can buy a PMR446 radio in one country and take it to any other European country that has PMR446 and use it there.
Ch1 446.00625
Ch2 446.01875
Ch3 446.03125
Ch4 446.04375
Ch5 446.05625
Ch6 446.06875
Ch7 446.08125
Ch8 446.09375
Yeah, I know, it's right in the middle of the 70cm ham band in the USA.
440-450 isn't a ham band in many parts of Europe.
Analog, FM, 12.5kHz channel spacing, "narrow" (11k0f3e) bandwidth.
Max TX power is 0.5W. Antenna must be permanently attached to the radio.
CTCSS/PL and DCS/DPL are used. Some radios also have analog audio inversion scrambling.
Legal for anyone to use for all types of 2-way radio usage.
Currently popular for business and personal use.
The main attraction is low cost and no licensing to worry about.
Range is virtually identical to what you can expect with FRS in the USA.
Specs are overall similar to the USA's FRS (462/467MHz) but operates in the 446.0 to 446.1 range. Many of the FRS/GMRS "bubble pack" radios sold in the USA share a common design with its PMR446 couterpart. For example, the Motorola TalkAbout T6220 FRS radio in the USA is also sold in Europe as a PMR446 radio and labeled as a Motorola TalkAbout T6222.
More PMR446 info:
http://www.446user.co.uk
http://www.transmission1.co.uk
http://www.121radio.co.uk