FCC Cancels Dec 18 Meeting

On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it has canceled its open meeting scheduled for Thursday, Dec 18. The cancelation came in response to a request by Sen Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA) that the FCC pay more attention to a smooth transition to digital television early next year. The meeting agenda had included votes on changes to program-access complaint rules, including putting a shot clock on the FCC's handling of complaints, as well as opening an inquiry into a related proposal to prohibit cable programmers from dictating placement on programming tiers as a condition of carriage agreements. The agenda also included a proposal to create a free broadband service as part of a wireless spectrum auction, another item that had drawn criticism from those who supported the proposal but opposed a condition that the service include a content filter to protect minors from inappropriate content.