NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: April 12, 2013 Neil Grace, 202-418-0506 Email: neil.grace@fcc.gov FCC AND STATE DEPARTMENT ENGAGING IN CONTINUOUS DISCUSSIONS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO ON BORDER ISSUES RELATED TO THE INCENTIVE AUCTION The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of State, under the auspices of the U.S.-Canada Radio Technical Liaison Committee (RTLC) and U.S.-Mexico High Level Consultative Commission on Telecommunications (HLCC), have been engaged in on-going discussions with our counterparts in the Canadian and Mexican telecommunications authorities relating to the Commission’s planned 2014 Broadcast Television Incentive Auction. “The U.S. has always had collegial and effective working relationships with our spectrum partners in Canada and Mexico. Spectrum coordination with our neighbors to the north and south is a key component to the Commission’s spectrum management mandate,” said Gary Epstein, Chair of the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force. Mr. Jack Spilsbury, Acting United States Coordinator for International Communications Policy at the State Department added, “The RTLC and HLCC have served as useful well established bilateral institutions in international communications for all three countries for decades.” As is typical of open spectrum proceedings with cross-border implications, the United States and its Canadian and Mexican counterparts have established government-to-government working arrangements that have been operating to help ensure optimal outcomes for all three countries. The U.S.-Canada working arrangement has resulted in several teleconferences over the past month. Historically, this process has resulted in mutually beneficial understandings on efficient, interference-free use of the spectrum in the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico border areas. The Commission expects these consultations will ultimately lead to a better-designed and more successful incentive auction, and will create opportunities for greater spectrum efficiency and band harmonization across North America. -FCC-