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GAO: Digital TV Switchover Mostly On Track

But report finds "technical issues" still slowing pace of transition

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 21, 2008 

"Some of these stations still need to order equipment, such as antennas, to build their final digital facilities. Furthermore, stations may have coordination issues to address to complete their final digital facilities," the agency said. "Stations also need to coordinate with cable providers and satellite companies to ensure that cable and satellite facilities receive digital signals when the analog signals are turned off."

The report renewed calls from Congress for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to work harder to educate consumers and businesses about the DTV transition. Senate Commerce Committee chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) noted his "deep and ongoing concern" that the FCC was not providing enough information for the different stakeholders involved in the transition.

"I believe that a closer examination of the report's statistics reveal that there remain a number of hurdles for industry to overcome," Inouye said.

Among the report's findings:

• 91 percent of the 1,122 full-power stations responding to the GAO survey are currently transmitting a digital signal, with approximately 68 percent of survey respondents transmitting their digital signal at full strength.

• 68 percent were transmitting their digital signal on the channel from which they will broadcast after the transition date. 23 percent of the stations said they would move the analog channel to a new digital channel before the transition.

• 47 stations indicated that they need to construct a broadcast tower or reinforce an existing tower to build the necessary facilities to broadcast digital television signals. Another 69 stations indicated that they have not started construction on digital broadcast facilities.

• New antennae and broadcast facilities may cost stations anywhere from several hundred thousand dollars to as much as $2 million, according to one industry association the GAO interviewed.

• Some stations may have to reduce or end their analog broadcasts prior to the February 17 transition date in order to ensure a smooth , which may cause customer confusion if viewers are not properly informed ahead of time.

"It remains vital that those broadcasters who have lingering or looming technical issues, including adjustments to tower and antenna apparatus, have plans in place to address them now while there is still ample time, said Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA), who requested the report from the GAO. "We must also ensure that the FCC remains on top of these issues and works with industry to address them to ensure overall success."

Political concerns

The DTV transition has taken on aspects of a political battle, with members of Congress and consumer protection groups charging that the Bush administration and the FCC are not doing enough to educate and prepare the public for the change.

Studies have claimed that as many as 23 million TV sets may go dark without set-top digital converter boxes. Even then, many households may require new antennas and additional equipment to properly view the DTV signals.

Although the Commerce Department launched a program of giving away $40 vouchers to help pay for digital converter boxes, many big retailers have not begun selling the converter boxes yet, and the coupons expire 90 days after they are granted, with no ability to renew or replace them. Only a few retailers enable the coupons to be used for online purchases, requiring most buyers to go to the stores.

The FCC recently fined a number of retailers for not properly identifying equipment as requiring converter boxes to receive digital signals, or those devices that would not work after the transition was made.

But it also loosened restrictions on how much time it would take for manufacturers to affix warning labels to products, and narrowed the list of products that required a sticker identifying them as either DTV-ready or not.

What to do

The following sites have more information about the analog-to-digital transition:

• Our Dawn Carlson provides a thorough overview of what you need to know.

• Visit the FCC's official DTV site to get more information.

• Apply for a converter box coupon at the NTIA's converter program Web site.

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