We observe the dropping of electromagnetic waves having a specific frequency or a certain frequency band in two-dimensional dielectric photonic crystals. The single frequency is dropped via cavity-waveguide coupling. Tunability of the demultiplexing mode can be achieved by modifying the cavity properties. The band-dropping phenomenon is achieved by introducing interaction between an input planar, or coupled-cavity, waveguide and the output coupled-cavity waveguides (CCWs). The dropping band can be tuned by changing the coupling strength between the localized cavity modes of the output CCWs. We also calculate the transmission spectra and the field patterns by using the finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) method. Calculated results agree well with the microwave measurements. © 2002 Optical Society of America.