The FCC has cancelled an open meeting set for Dec. 18 after two high-ranking lawmakers asked Chairman Kevin Martin to hold off on some controversial items in the agenda.
The commission had been planning to vote on a proposal to auction off wireless spectrum in the AWS-3 band for free wireless internet access.
The agency announced the cancellation late Friday, the same day U.S. Representative Henry Waxman of California and U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia wrote the letter to Martin.
The Democratic lawmakers said it would be counterproductive for the FCC to try to deal with controversial proposals when the nation didn’t appear ready for the transition from analog to digital TV on Feb. 17, 2009. Waxman is the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the FCC, and Rockefeller is expected to lead the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which deals with similar issues.
