Late on Friday, December 12, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission cancelled the Open Commission Meeting that had been scheduled for Thursday, December 18. The abrupt cancellation came amidst media reports that two prominent members of Congress—Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D. WV) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D. CA)—had sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin urging a delay in action on items listed on the published meeting agenda. Instead, they called on the commission to concentrate on the transition to digital television coming in February. Although reports did not indicate which actions were a cause for concern, the most likely items are the ongoing dispute between cables companies and content providers and the plans for a spectrum auction, in which the bidder buying the spectrum would be required to use a quarter of that spectrum to provide free Internet access. This spectrum plan, dubbed AWS-3, is vigorously opposed by wireless telecom providers, citing fears of interference in adjacent parts of the spectrum and declaring that the AWS-3 is simply not a viable business model.View the cancellation notice on the FCC website.
FCC Cancels December Meeting; Moves on Controversial Actions Postponed
