Posted on 06/12/2005 4:10:30 PM PDT by LdSentinal
FCC moves up TV tuner mandate
WASHINGTON-Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and frequent critic of the TV broadcast lobby, will introduce a bill next Tuesday that will set the hard date for the completion of the digital TV transition at Jan. 1, 2009. McCain's move will pre-empt the current chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who said earlier this week that he is preparing a similar bill, but did not give a timeframe for introducing his bill.
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The McCain bill will be similar to legislation known as the Save Lives Act (the Spectrum Availability for Emergency Response and Law Enforcement to Improve Vital Emergency Services), which he introduced last year, but will reduce the set-top box subsidy to $463 million plus administrative costs. This amount is expected to cover the 9.2 million low-income homes that receive their TV signals from free-over-the-air broadcasting. Low income is defined as 200 percent below the poverty line.
Stevens said earlier this week his legislation likely would include subsidies for set-top boxes. Democrats on the House Commerce Committee were critical of the House staff draft when it did not include a set-top box subsidy.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Commerce Committee, made news last year when he said he wanted to consider a "Berlin" subsidy to help complete the DTV transition. When Berlin switched to DTV, the government subsidized the purchases of set-top boxes for low-income TV viewers who had not purchased DTVs.
What is still unknown is how a subsidy program will be structured. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Thursday told reporters the closest the Federal Communications Commission has come to administering such a program is universal service.
"The FCC's most relevant experience is in the context of universal service," said Martin. "We have never implemented quite that kind of subsidy program like they are talking about. Universal service would be the only comparable thing the FCC has done."
McCain is planning a press conference for 1:30 p.m. June 14 that will include former Gov. Thomas Kean (R-N.J.), and former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission. The 9/11 Commission said the spectrum that TV broadcasters are using needs to be reclaimed to help public safety.
Last year's Saves Lives Act was at the center of a debate during consideration of the intelligence-reform bill, but the Senate sacrificed commercial wireless interests as it passed an amendment that would force TV broadcasters to give back the 700 MHz spectrum if public-safety users showed a bona-fide need.
The Senate Commerce Committee and its staff have been conducting closed-door listening sessions with the telecommunications and broadcasting industries regarding the DTV transition as they try to use auction revenue from the sale of 700 MHz spectrum to help reduce the federal deficit.
"We've completed the listening sessions on the DTV transition. We're going to put together now a bi-partisan bill and both staffs, minority and majority, will be working on that. It will be, I believe, quite similar to the House staff draft that has been circulated. We believe that we'll probably put a hard date in the bill of 2009," said Stevens Monday.
The Senate bill will also follow the House and include warning labels for analog TVs, said Stevens. The House DTV draft bill would require TV manufacturers to place warning labels on analog-only sets indicating they will go dark at the completion of the DTV transition.
In 1997, Congress said that in 2007, broadcasters would have to return the extra 6 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band given to TV broadcasters to facilitate the DTV transition. But TV broadcasters could keep the spectrum if more than 15 percent of the homes in their viewing areas could not receive digital signals. Removing the caveat has become known as establishing a hard date and has been widely encouraged by the wireless industry, which wants access to some of the spectrum.
FCC denies DTV tuner delay request
With or without action by the Congress, the FCC Thursday tried to speed the DTV transition by denying a request by the Consumer Electronics Association to delay when mid-size TVs-defined as 25 to 36 inches-must contain a DTV tuner. All mid-sized TVs will have to contain a DTV tuner before March 1, 2006. The FCC is also seeking comment on whether it should accelerate the current deadline of July 1, 2007, for smaller sets and whether to require a DTV tuner in TVs with screens smaller than 13 inches.
"We cannot take any steps backward. Rather we need to push the transition to its conclusion as expeditiously as possible. I am therefore pleased that this order declines to delay the date by which manufacturers must incorporate digital tuners in TV sets with screen sizes of 25 to 36 inches," said FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy. "This order makes important progress by ensuring that all sets in the relevant size range will have digital tuners by March 2006, rather than the original deadline of July 2006."
Broadcasters, who have complained that people can't receive digital signals until the TVs can receive them, hailed the ruling.
"With today's decision, the commission validates that the 'tuner mandate' is a powerful pro-consumer mechanism for moving the digital TV transition forward. We salute FCC Chairman Martin and other FCC commissioners for accelerating the original tuner schedule, and we strongly support the proposal to move up DTV tuner compliance for smaller TV sets. Allowing set manufacturers to continue selling analog-only TV sets only elongates the transition to digital," said Edward Fritts, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Broadcaste
And we get another gubment gibway.
If the good senator from Arizona fixes TVs as well as he does campaign finance....I'll stock up on radios.
I wonder why this is so important that we have hi-speed "Senators" worrying about it. Brainwashing in digital is better than analog?
However, those salespeople have Best Buy probably don't know that. They pretty much don't know anything.
They want the analog TV spectrum back so they can either sell it outright or give it away for campaign contributions.
Either that, or the HD signal is able to penetrate my tinfoil hat.
Here comes another PORK bill.
yup. maybe they can throw in a plasma TV for them too.
Yup. Yup. Yup.
I have had high definition for almost 3 years. There is no comparison to analog TV.
That's good; however, there are types of televisions that are flat-sets or plasma and people automatically assume that they're digital when they're not. They will be screwed in three years.
So, McCain undermines Stevens. And he tells Kerry not to run for president, yet.
This only concerns over-the-air broadcasts. Cable companies can continue to provide an analog feed, and probably will for at least the basic local channels.
what kind of television do you have?
I am absolutely confused about this whole thing.
If you are on cable do you still need a converter?
Will have to look into this more.
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