Committee addresses wireless broadband services, public safety spectrum management and the conclusion of the DTV transition.

R. Paul Margie and Thomas Navin will head the committee that advises the commission on the 2011 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-11)

Richer's participation will give broadcasters another voice on the TAC and may also help smooth the road for FCC approval of new standards for TV broadcasting that will allow for more efficient use of the spectrum and new broadcast services.

The CEA chief told lawmakers that a survey revealed 87 percent of the 110 million U.S. TV households are receiving local and national broadcast programming via cable or satellite

The committee, required by an act of Congress, will hold its first meeting Jan. 13 at commission headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Gary Shapiro is the longtime president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, the major lobby group for the consumer electronics industry and host of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Next month’s International CES 2008 will be held Jan. 7-10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Shapiro spoke this week with HD Notebook.

The standard was recommended in a report by the FCC’s Video Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee.