FCC 700 MH Band Plan

In August 2007 the FCC issued new rules for a January 16, 2008 auction of spectrum in the 700 MHz band. The rules cover how the auction would be administered, but also how the spectrum would be allocated. One of the most debated aspects of

the auction was the plan to set aside spectrum for a nationwide, public-private radio network for public safety agencies. The concept had originally been proposed by Nextel co-founder Morgan O'Brien as the Cyren Call project. But the concept was mirrored by other groups, hoping to cash in on the revenue possibilities.

The FCC's final Report and Order shuffled around some spectrum to create contiguous space for the new public safety radio network, as shown in the following diagrams from the Commission's R&O.

You can download the full Report &Order here.

The FCC desigated a portion of the upper 700 MHz commercial spectrum for the public-private public safety network. They also changed the location of an existing 1 MHz guard band license in two bands, shifted the adjacent frequencies down, and reduced the size of anothe guard band to create 2 MHz of additional available spectrum.

Here is the original band plan before the FCC's changes. The band is divided into an "upper" and "lower" section. The top panel shows the FCC-designation spectrum blocks, while the bottom panel shows the associated UHF television channels associated with those frequencies. Just beneath the lower panel are the actual frequency boundaries for the various channels and blocks.

The public safety allocation is divided into two 12 MHz bands for narrowband voice and wideband data.

Here is the 700 MHz band after the FCC's proposed changes. Notice how the allocation for the upper band TV channels has been revised.

More specifically, here is the original public safety band allocation in the upper 700 MHz band, generally divided between wideband (video, data, etc.), narrowband (voice) and guard bands between the public safety and commercial allocations to prevent interference.

Here is the revised public safety band allocation:

  • the FCC renamed the "wideband" allocation as "broadband"
  • the 1 MHz guard band (775-776 MHz) between public safety narrowband and commercial has been deleted, and its frequencies have become part of the commercial allocation
  • the 2 MHz guard band (792-794 MHz) between public safety broadband and commercial, and the frequencies hae become part of the commercial allocation

The result is paired 5 MHz blocks for broadband, paired 6 MHz blocks for narrowband, separated by a 2 MHz guard band.

Here is another view of the upper 700 MHz band after the FCC's revision, showing the guard bands.

Here is the FCC's official explanation of its changes to create the public safety radio network:

"In this Second Report and Order, we take several interrelated actions with respect to the commercial services, including the Guard Bands, and the public safety services to promote broadband deployment throughout the 700 MHz Band to better serve American consumers and the needs of the public safety community. With regard to the commercial services in the 700 MHz Band, we increase the amount of spectrum to be auctioned, from 60 megahertz to 62 megahertz, by eliminating 2 megahertz of the Guard Band B Block, and we provide for a revised mix of small, regional, and large geographic service area licenses – CMAs, EAs, and REAGs respectively – and include one large 22-megahertz spectrum block (comprised of paired 11- megahertz blocks). We also designate a 10-megahertz block of commercial spectrum (comprised of paired 5-megahertz blocks), the Upper 700 MHz Band D Block, that will be part of the 700 MHz Public/Private Partnership. With regard to the 700 MHz Public Safety Band, we designate the public safety wideband spectrum for broadband use consistent with a nationwide interoperability standard, consolidate the existing narrowband allocations in the upper half of the 700 MHz Public Safety Band, locate broadband communications in the lower part, and create a Public Safety Broadband Licensee to manage the development of a broadband communications network with a nationwide level of interoperability. We also adjust the locations of the 700 MHz Guard Band blocks to permit a 1-megahertz shift of the 700 MHz Public Safety Band to address public safety narrowband operations in border areas of the country."