FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has officially asked Congress
for a one-month extension of the Feb. 17 due date for the national broadband
plan.
That came in letters to the leaders of the House Energy
& Commerce and Senate Commerce Committees, which have jurisdiction over the
FCC. The letters were posted on the FCC's Web site Thursday. And while the new
due date may be St. Patrick's Day, the chairman assured the legislators that
the delay will not cost any more green. "This extension will have no
impact on the FCC budget for the plan," he said.
Genachowksi said the request was so that the FCC could
collect more information from stakeholders and better brief Congress. He
pointed out that it was an unparalleled undertaking.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller has
already agreed to support the delay, which was reported Wednesday, and ranking
member Kay Bailey Hutchison will too, according to a source familiar with her
thinking.
