PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission
445 12
th
St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
DA 13-799
Released:  April 19, 2013
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION PROVIDES
ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT WORKSHOP
TO DISCUSS THE 600 MHz BAND PLAN 
GN Docket No. 12-268
As part of the Learn Everything About Reverse-Auctions Now Program (LEARN), the Federal 
Communications Commission will host a public workshop on May 3, 2013, from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM in the 
Commission Meeting Room to discuss technical aspects of the 600 MHz wireless band plan that will result from 
the broadcast television incentive auction.
1
  
In the Broadcast Television Incentive Auction NPRM, the Commission sought public comment on 
creating a 600 MHz band plan from the spectrum made available for flexible use through the broadcast television
incentive auction.
2
In proposing a band plan, the Commission focused on five key policy goals: utility, certainty, 
interchangeability, quantity, and interoperability.
3
  The proposed 600 MHz Band Plan contains several features, 
some novel, to achieve these goals, including auctioning “generic” blocks rather than specific frequency blocks;
licensing in 5 MHz “building blocks;” offering blocks designated specifically for uplink and for downlink 
operations; establishing guard bands, where necessary; and prioritizing paired blocks wherever possible, and 
offering supplemental downlink spectrum where paired blocks are not possible.
4
  Most commenters support these 
features of the 600 MHz Band Plan.  The record, however, reflects a broad range of commenter views on how and 
where to configure the uplink and downlink blocks in the band plan.  
At the workshop, a panel of FCC experts will lead a day-long roundtable discussion with stakeholders on 
how best to achieve the FCC’s five policy goals in crafting a 600 MHz band plan.  The goal is to evaluate and 
quantify technical tradeoffs among the proposed 600 MHz band plan, alternative band plan proposals in the 
Commission’s NPRM, and other proposals put forward by commenters.
                                           
1
See FCC Announces Workshop to Discuss 600 MHz Band Plan, Public Notice, DA 13-614 (April 4, 2013). See also,
Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum Through Incentive Auctions, Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, 27 FCC Rcd 12357 (2012) (Broadcast Television Incentive Auction NPRM).  
2
NPRM, 27 FCC Rcd at 12401, paras. 123-184.
3
NPRM, 27 FCC Rcd at 12401, para. 125.
4
In the 600 MHz Band Plan, the uplink band begins at channel 51 (698 MHz) and expands downward toward channel 37, 
and the downlink band begins at channel 36 (608 MHz) and expands downward; existing channel 37 operations remain on 
that channel, and depending on the amount of spectrum cleared, some broadcast TV stations would likely remain in the 
duplex gap.  The 600 MHz Band Plan also contemplates a single, nationwide downlink band while allowing for variable 
uplink to accommodate market-by-market clearing, rather than being constrained by the minimum amount of spectrum that 
can be cleared nationwide. NPRM, 27 FCC Rcd at 12401, paras. 123-184.
2Workshop participants will discuss the following technical issues that have been raised in the record: 
? mobile antenna issues, 
? high power services in the duplex gap and intermodulation issues, 
? harmonics interference, 
? co-channel interference, 
? filter pass band, and 
? duplexing approaches permitted in the band.  
Workshop participants will focus on technical issues involving licensed, flexible use wireless services in 
the 600 MHz band and interference issues raised by the coexistence of mobile services and television stations in 
the band.  Related band plan issues, such as the use of guard bands or channel 37 by various licensed or 
unlicensed transmissions, may be the focus of a future LEARN workshop.  
For more information about the incentive auction, visit: http://www.fcc.gov/learn. 
Attendance.  This forum is open to the public.  All attendees are advised to arrive approximately 30 
minutes prior to the start of the workshop to allow time to go through our security process.  Attendees are 
encouraged to pre-register by submitting their name and company affiliation via email to Cecilia Sulhoff 
(Cecilia.Sulhoff@fcc.gov) in order to expedite the check-in process the day of the event.  Please use “Band Plan
Workshop” as the subject line in your email.
Webcast.  The forum will be webcast at http://www.fcc.gov/live.
Accessibility Information.  Open captioning will be provided for this event.  Other reasonable 
accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request.  Requests for such accommodations 
should be submitted via e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or by calling the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 
(202) 418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 (TTY).  Such requests should include a detailed description of the 
accommodation needed.  This document can also be downloaded in Word and Portable Document Format (PDF) 
at: http://www.fcc.gov.
For further information, contact Paul Malmud at 202-418-0006, or via e-mail at Paul.Malmud@fcc.gov. 
-FCC-