Genachowski's First FCC Public Meeting to Focus on National Broadband Plan

As Julius Genachowski was preparing to be sworn in Monday as FCC chairman, the commission announced it had cleared the decks for Thursday's public meeting, Genachowski's first as chairman, to focus on the national broadband plan.

Initially the meeting was to also have included decisions authorizing spectrum for a medical information network, permitting AM stations to rebroadcast on FM translators and expanding use of spectrum in upper bandwidths.

But in a notice, the FCC announced the commission had already voted to approve those.

That leaves the status report for a national broadband plan, which the FCC has been charged by Congress and the administration with drafting by February of next year.

It is expected to be the top priority of the new chairman.

The commissioners are also expected to discuss the DTV transition, though it is not officially on the calendar.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.