House Votes 212-206 for Feb. 2009 DTV Transition
The House voted 212-206 early Mon. to pass a conference report on the budget reconciliation bill setting Feb. 17, 2009, as the cutoff for analog broadcasts and creating a $1.5 billion DTV converter box subsidy program. The report also contains $1 billion for state and local interoperability grants; $75 million for a program to switch low power TV stations and TV translators to digital; and $30 million to a group of N.Y.C. broadcast stations for gear to provide an adequate digital signal from the Empire State Building until the Freedom Tower is completed to replace their former site atop the World Trade Center.
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The Senate was expected to start a 10-hour debate Mon. on the report before moving to a final vote, but that plan was in doubt at our deadline, Senate Committee spokesmen said. The bill, insulated from filibuster under reconciliation rules, is expected to pass, according to Senate sources. “With the spectrum auctions expected to raise more than $10 billion, the Congress has succeeded in finding a vital balance between the needs of first responders and consumers,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) in a statement: “Americans will not be left in the dark in 2009 when the digital transition is completed.”
But Consumers Union said the program is short on funding and structural details. “This leaves consumers bearing an enormous amount of financial risk,” said Gene Kimmelman, CU senior dir.-public policy. He criticized the report for not including language requiring cable operators to downconvert digital signals to analog, which would eliminate the need for converter boxes for cable customers with analog TVs. But the biggest disappointment was halving the Senate’s proposed $3 billion to the report’s $1.5 billion, Kimmelman said. “The fact that they're having trouble with other elements of the budget doesn’t justify” burdening consumers, Kimmelman said. “This is not a fair way of moving to a digital environment.”
Sen. Ensign (R-Nev.) introduced an amendment that would have cut the $3 billion to $1 billion, but when amendments piled up with proposals for spending the resulting $2 billion instead of using it to cut the deficit, the Ensign amendment was pulled, according to a Senate source. The bill starts with a $990 million subsidy fund; if the Commerce Dept. decides more is needed, $510 million would be available. The report sets Jan. 28, 2008 as the date for the auction of 60 MHz of analog spectrum, and directs the FCC to assess fees on existing spectrum users.
At 4 a.m. Mon., before the budget vote, House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.) gave an emotional speech on the floor thanking colleagues who buoyed him when he had a minor heart attack and was hospitalized over the weekend. He said the outpouring of sympathy from people with “some of the meanest, toughest reputations on both sides of the aisle” but who proved to be “softies,” make him grateful to be working in such a “fine institution.”
Barton hailed the conference report’s approval, saying it would bring “needed certainty to allow consumers, broadcasters, cable and satellite operators, manufacturers, retailers and govt. to prepare for the end of the transition.” He said 3 years is “more than enough time” for the market to cope with transition, for the FCC to allocate channels, for broadcasters to go digital and for govt. and industry to ready consumers. “Most consumers should be unaffected by the Feb. 17, 2009 deadline and will not need an over-the-air converter box,” said a House Commerce Committee press statement. Fewer than 15% of households rely only on over-the-air broadcasts, and the other 85% subscribe to multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) that can convert programming to analog-viewable formats for these households, the statement said.
Industry Welcomes Report
Industry groups lauded the House vote, with broadcasters delighted at the absence of a downconversion requirement. “The legislation thwarts the cable industry’s desire to degrade delivery of HDTV pictures to consumers,” NAB Pres. David Rehr said in a statement. Urging Senate adoption of the report, he praised the measure’s “pro-consumer DTV provisions.” NCTA Pres. Kyle McSlarrow said cable operators and programmers “stand ready to deliver” the digital future to consumers: “We'll continue to work hard to educate consumers about the transition, and to help prepare all Americans for the 2009 transition date.”
“We expect the Senate to quickly step up to the plate and, at long last, open a new era in digital communications for consumers and first responders,” said Janice Obuchowski, exec. dir., High Tech DTV Coalition. Some coalition members have said spectrum auctions will yield $28 billion -- far more than the $10 billion estimated by the Congressional Budget Office. If revenue exceeds $10 billion, Stevens has said he would use $2 billion of any surplus to fund the low-income home energy program and homeland security programs.
“High-tech scored several important wins,” said Ralph Hellman, Information Technology Industry Council senior vp-govt. relations. “A hard date for digital TV transition will give our companies the confidence to start developing new products and services,” he said. TIA also praised the conference vote.