Rich Fiscus
16 Dec 2007 16:14
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the U.S. Federal government has issued another report critical of the lack of planning so far among various agencies in preparation for the transition from analog to digital TV broadcasting in February of 2009.
According to the report "Despite public-private sector interaction designed to help facilitate the transition, we found that no comprehensive plan exists for the DTV transition. Among other things, a comprehensive plan can detail milestones and key goals, which provide meaningful guidance for assigning and coordinating responsibilities and deadlines and measuring progress."
The report goes on to state that when presented with the report's conclusions the Chairman stated "FCC does not have a formal plan in place that is publicly available, but that the various orders contained in FCC dockets amount to a plan." He also indicated that he didn't feel the GAO report gave his agency enough credit for the things they've already done. Of course, as the document points out, a plan is important not just for accomplishing goals, but also evaluating their completion, something that can't be done if there are no goals set to begin with.
The chairman's response is interesting in light of an increasing amount of criticism of the government's plan for the DTV transition coming from within Washington D.C. If there is a plan in place behind the scenes it would make sense to share it with the oversight agency in order to make sure everyone is on the same page. Or maybe an earlier GAO report on the FCC is correct and it's just another sign of their anti-consumer bias.
You can read the GAO report in its entirety on the agency's website.