Techniques are described for wireless communication. A method for wireless communication at a base station includes determining a set of physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) to be transmitted in a control region; transmitting an enhanced physical control format indicator channel (ePCFICH) identifying a quantity of PDCCHs in the set of PDCCHs associated with each aggregation level of at least one aggregation level, and a size of the control region; and transmitting the set of PDCCHs in the control region on a component carrier deployed in a radio frequency spectrum band. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) device includes receiving the ePCFICH; receiving the control region; and searching for at least one PDCCH within the control region based at least in part on receiving the ePCFICH.