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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202/  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  Contact:  David  Fiske 
 October  11,  2001  (202)  418-  0513 


 FCC  CHAIRMAN  MICHAEL  POWELL  ANNOUNCES  CREATION  OF  FCC  DIGITAL  TELEVISION  TASK  FORCE 
 Washington,  D.  C.  -  FCC  Chairman  Michael  Powell  today  announced  the  creation  of  an 
 FCC  Digital  Television  (DTV)  Task  Force  to  review  the  ongoing  transition  to  DTV,  and  to  make 
 recommendations  to  the  Commission  concerning  priorities  to  facilitate  the  transition  and 
 promote  the  rapid  recovery  of  broadcast  spectrum  for  other  uses. 


 Powell  said  the  Task  Force  will  be  a  cross-  bureau  and  cross-  disciplinary  group.  It  will  be 
 chaired  by  Mass  Media  Bureau  Associate  Chief,  Rick  Chessen. 


 Powell  said,  “The  DTV  transition  is  a  massive  and  complex  undertaking.  Although  I’m 
 often  asked  what  the  FCC  is  going  to  do  to  ‘fix’  the  DTV  transition,  I  believe  that  a  big  part  of 
 the  problem  were  the  unrealistic  expectations  set  by  the  2006  target  date  for  return  of  the  analog 
 spectrum.  This  Task  Force  will  help  us  re-  examine  the  assumptions  on  which  the  Commission 
 based  its  DTV  policies,  and  give  us  the  ability  to  react  and  make  necessary  adjustments.” 


 The  Chairman  added,  “The  second  job  of  the  Task  Force  will  be  to  help  us  set  priorities 
 as  we  move  forward  –  what  we  need  to  do  immediately,  what  can  wait,  what  need  not  be  done  at 
 all,  and  what  is  more  appropriately  done  by  someone  else  because  it  involves  aspects  of  the 
 transition  not  within  the  purview  or  expertise  of  the  FCC.” 


 Powell  cautioned  that  the  Commission  must  review  the  DTV  transition  in  light  of  “new 
 realities  that  have  arisen  out  of  the  tragic  events  of  September  11.”  He  said,  “We  must  be  aware 
 of  the  financial  impact  of  the  attacks  on  our  media  companies.  We  must  be  aware  of  the  impact 
 on  consumer  spending.  We  must  be  aware  of  the  needs  of  public  safety  and  other  wireless 
 services  for  additional  spectrum.  Above  all,  we  must  be  mindful  of  our  place  in  the  broader 
 community.” 


 Powell  said,  “This  is  a  Task  Force  born  of  the  need  to  take  a  hard  look  at  where  we  are  in 
 the  DTV  transition  and  to  make  any  mid-  course  corrections  necessary.  The  group  we’ve 
 assembled  is  well-  suited  to  handle  these  challenges  before  us.” 


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