FCC chief Kevin Martin has fired back at the Obama camp for its recommendation for a delay in the DTV transition. As previously reported on Neowin, the Obama office wants the FCC to delay the transition to DTV from analog on February 17th.
The FCC fired back and made it clear that a delay is unlikely to happen and provides credible reasoning as to why it should not happen. "[W]e"ve spent a lot of time and energy getting ready for the February 17 date," Martin said during a CES Q&A. "I am concerned about the consumer confusion that would be created." The FCC also points out that most broadcasting companies did not budget nor prepare to run two transmitters at the same time.
As it stands now the FCC will not be backing down on its initial plan of February 17th unless Congress passes a judgment delaying the transition. As we get closer to the deadline the fighting will most likely intensify but at the end of the day the broadcasters already have plans in place to remove the old analog technology, the FCC has sold off the spectrum, it has advertised heavily for the transition and should not be delayed because a small minority procrastinated to upgrade their technology.
Looks like this lady will need to get ready in time: