Carlos Gutierrez

Now that President Barack Obama is settled in, his administration's push to delay the transition from analog broadcast television to digital is in full swing. Senate Republicans, who initially didn't support the DTV delay, now favor pushing the transition from Feb. 17 to June 12. The Senate is expected to vote next week and the House soon after.

The reintroduced DTV Delay Act, pushed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), still keeps the June 12 date, but now allows broadcast stations to switch to digital signals before June 12.

A much-publicized meeting by the Federal Communications Commission later this month has been canceled. The meeting's agenda included a vote on a plan that could have provided free broadband wireless service to underserved areas of the U.S.

The FCC said the meeting for Dec. 18 was canceled following a request from Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) that the agency scale down other efforts in order to concentrate on the switch to digital-television broadcasts in February.

Pressure From Both Sides

A debate between the Federal Communications Commission and the outgoing Bush administration centers on the FCC's plan to make broadband available for free at government-mandated speeds.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez said providing free broadband services would be counterproductive, result in a congested and inefficient broadband, and be inconsistent with the Bush administration's stand that the service should be allocated by the markets, not the government.