Coordinating with Mexico and Canada to harmonize our TV and wireless spectrum bands is a critical component of meeting the Commission’s goals for the Incentive Auction. We are thrilled to be able to report some exciting progress on this front.
Last week, the Mexican communications regulator, the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), confirmed through an exchange of technical coordination letters with the FCC that our two agencies intend to follow common guidelines for repacking TV stations that will clear 600 MHz spectrum for mobile broadband use in both countries.
Last year, Mexico announced its plan to relocate all of its television stations below channel 37, and this exchange of letters outlines the procedures by which we will work together to help advance the ongoing FCC and IFT spectrum reconfiguration process. They also describe the procedures by which the two agencies intend to help advance both Mexico’s analog-to-digital transition and the ongoing FCC and IFT spectrum reconfiguration process.
Taken together, these steps are another milestone on the road to a successful Incentive Auction. Many thanks to our counterparts at IFT for their hard work and cooperate efforts to reach this point.