Congress to Shed Light on TV’s Going Dark
CABLE
Cape Cod Times
Darlene M. Darcy
Boston University Washington News Service
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
WASHINGTON – By February 17, 2009, television stations will stop broadcasting analog signals and switch to digital signals, potentially causing millions of television sets across the nation to go dark.
Anyone who owns an analog television – one that receives over-the-air analog signals through an antenna or “rabbit ears” – and does not have cable will have to purchase a digital-to-analog converter box, a digital television or a subscription to a cable or satellite service provider to continue viewing television programming after the February transition date.
A 2005 law directed the Federal Communications Commission to require all television stations to change from analog to digital-only broadcasting. This transition will provide improved television services to consumers and free up space on the broadcast spectrum. The government plans to use some of the additional space for public safety alerts and auction other space to commercial wireless services.
“While the switch to digital promises to enhance news and entertainment alike, it will be cumbersome if broadcasters and consumers are not ready,” Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) said in a written statement.
At an oversight hearing on Wednesday members of the committee’s Telecommunications and the Internet subcommittee questioned FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, John Kneuer, administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and industry experts about their plans to educate the public about the transition.
“The most critical component of a successful DTV transition is consumer education,” subcommittee Chairman Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said. “Unfortunately, prior oversight hearings have left this subcommittee with a DTV picture that is fuzzy at best.”
Markey and other committee members, concerned that a clear transition plan does not yet exist, urged industry and agency leaders to create a comprehensive plan that coordinates efforts by all parties involved in facilitating the transition to effectively educate consumers.
Already, the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration have created informational Web sites, prepared consumer alerts and held meetings with retailers, manufacturers and other private industry groups.
Education efforts by the Federal Communications Commission have been directed at the groups of consumers most likely to be affected and least likely to be aware of the transition: senior citizens, non-English speakers and minorities, disabled people, low-income families and residents of rural and tribal communities, according to Martin.
Yet, many are still unaware of the transition at all. The Association for Public Television Stations, a trade association, conducted a survey in January 2007 that showed 61 percent of participants had “no idea” there was going to be a transition, reports the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The Federal Communications Commission also is responsible for regulating manufacturers and retailers. Under the federal law manufacturers can no longer produce or import televisions that only have analog tuners since they’ll soon be obsolete without a digital-to-analog converter box. Retailers must include consumer alerts on any televisions that have analog-only tuners.
The commission has inspected almost 1,280 retailers as of October 15, 2007 and issued 280 citations for failing to comply with alert requirements, according to Martin’s testimony. To date, fines against retailers total at least $3 million. In its investigations of manufacturers’ violations, the commission has issued fines totaling more than $14 million.
To help inform consumers about the transition, private industry groups have created the Digital TV Transitional Coalition. With more than 160 member organizations, including the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, Consumer Electronics Association, Nation Association of Broadcasters, LG Electronics and AARP, the coalition is planning information educational campaigns and broadcasting public service announcements.
Also a $1.5 million program to subsidize consumers’ purchases of digital-to-analog converter boxes has been established. Starting next January, every U.S. household is eligible to request from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration – via phone, mail or online – up to two coupons, each worth $40, to use toward the purchase of converter boxes.
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