This study investigates a dual-band modified metamaterial (MTM) unit cell for wireless communications. The proposed MTM unit cell is designed on a 1.524 mm thickness of FR-4 substrate with a compact dimension of 8 × 8 mm². The structure's performance is evaluated using the computer simulation technology (CST 2019) software. The simulated result has a bandwidth of 2.88–5.69 GHz and 8.71–10.41 GHz, with a maximum magnitude of −39.97 dB at the resonance frequency of 4.47 GHz and −28.26 dB at the resonance frequency of 9.56 GHz. The measured result achieved a bandwidth of 2.46–4.99 GHz and 8.06 to 10.02 GHz, with a maximum magnitude of −37.94 dB at the resonance frequency of 4.44 GHz and attained a magnitude of −25.16 dB at the resonance frequency of 9.59 GHz, covering C- and X-band frequency ranges. The effective medium parameters (Permittivity, permeability, refractive index, and impedance) are also analyzed in this study. The proposed structure's effective medium ratio (EMR) is 8.45, indicating its compactness. The ADS software is used to design the metamaterial structure's equivalent circuit. The performance of the proposed MTM unit is verified through the simulation result, ADS result, and measurement result, respectively. Both the simulation methods and measured results cover the C and X microwave frequency range, so the proposed MTM unit will be a potential candidate for satellite and radar communications applications.