TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Panel Vote Would Give Station Owners a Break: The House Commerce Committee voted not to charge the television industry for the airwaves it needs for a planned transition to digital TV. The House panel and the Senate Commerce Committee have been considering auctioning licenses for that digital spectrum to broadcasters to meet a goal of bringing in $14.3 billion in revenue to the government. But the House panel voted to get the money from general spectrum auctions. That spectrum could be sold to buyers interested in using the airwaves for such things as cellular communications, paging and digital data transmissions. The House Commerce Committee’s bill next goes to the House Budget Committee for consideration. The Senate panel, which still is leaning toward charging TV station owners, will mark up its version of the bill next week.