FCC December Open Meeting Focuses on Tate, DTV

With no votes on the agenda, Federal Communications Commission members spent most of the agency's December open meeting praising departing Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate. But the commissioners could not escape the biggest issue facing the agency in the short term: the transition to all-digital television broadcasting. "I am afraid the DTV transition isn't ready for prime time yet," said Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. "People need to get moving if they aren't going to lose a signal or pay full price for a converter box. I am afraid it is going to be messy unless something dramatic is done." He'd like the Commission to make grants to community groups.