NTIA Should Seek More Funds for Box Program if Needed, House Says
NTIA should be ready to ask Congress or the White House to supply more money for the DTV converter box program if it becomes apparent that the $1.5 million mandated isn’t enough, Democrats and Republicans agreed Thurs. at an House Telecom Subcommittee oversight hearing. NTIA Dir. John Kneuer said he expects the money to be sufficient, but the program NTIA has set up provides for compilation of “real-time” data that he will share with Congress so “we can collectively make a decision.”
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Lawmakers were sharply critical of the converter box program and a $1 billion interoperability emergency communications program that NTIA is running with the Dept. of Homeland Security. “I would urge we figure out how we make it possible to create true interoperability,” said Rep. Harman (D-Cal.). Harman said she’s concerned that the govt. isn’t spending money on interoperability programs wisely, and it hasn’t created a federal-state-local communications plan for the country to deal with coordinated terrorist attacks.
Many lawmakers were concerned about NTIA’s joint management of a $1 billion interoperability fund with DHS. “What makes DHS the best agency to work with?” asked former Speaker Hastert (R-Ill.). Kneuer said DHS has an infrastructure in place with experts who understand the grant-making process, and for NTIA to recreate those skills would be a duplication of effort. Kneuer stressed that policymaking rests with NTIA, which has the communications expertise: “We are going to work with DHS but ultimately the policymaking comes from the Dept. of Commerce.”
NTIA’s converter box program rules restrict funding for millions of Americans in a “short-sighted approach,” Commerce Committee Chmn. Dingell said in a written statement released at the hearing: “If the Administration believes it will take additional funding to prevent televisions from going dark by the government-mandated transition, it should make sure a request to the Congress.”
Telecom Subcommittee Ranking Member Upton (R-Mich.) also suggested NTIA could seek more money for the program if needed: “There'd be nothing to prevent you, if in fact somehow you reached that $1.5 billion… from saying… we might need another $50 million or $20 million or whatever it might be on top of this to continue the program if in fact we looked at bumping that ceiling, is that not right?” Congress could grant more money without the request, Upton noted.
Rep. Inslee (D-Wash.) was angry that NTIA was “leaving it up to industry” to get the word out about the DTV transition. Kneuer admitted that none of the $5 million would be used to develop public service announcements -- an expertise he said industry would be better positioned to handle. “So you don’t have an estimate of how many PSAs people will see,” Inslee pressed. Not at this point, Kneuer said. “That’s a little disturbing,” Inslee said. Leaving it to industry to handle is “grossly inadequate,” he said: “I'll forward my calls to you” when peoples’ TV sets stop working.”
Kneuer told us the $1.5 million probably will suffice. “We'll communicate the data we collect with Congress but “I would anticipate that the resources we have will be sufficient.” Kneuer also said in response to a question from Upton that the availability of low-cost digital set-top boxes from cable operators would take some pressure off the program to supply boxes to over-the-air households.
Rep. Stupak (D-Mich.) was sharply critical of the Bush Administration’s public safety policies for emergency communications. He said he plans to introduce legislation that would make the NTIA grant program permanent and fund the grants through spectrum auctions. Like many lawmakers, he expressed concern that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines how the 2 agencies are to manage the program doesn’t offer new ideas. “We are at a critical juncture today,” Stupak said: “Public safety will soon have double the amount of spectrum available; spectrum that is badly needed in many parts of the country.” Stupak criticized the Administration’s funding goals. “The budget uses the NTIA funding to offset the Administration’s proposed $1 billion cuts to public safety grants. The Administration’s budget is completely contrary to Congress’s intent of new funding and a new approach for communications interoperability,” Stupak said.
Kneuer told the subcommittee NTIA has made “significant progress” in identifying gaps in parts of the country where interoperability problems exist. Documenting those problem areas is a major step toward a nationwide solution, he said. In addition, he said NTIA has awarded $7.8 million reimburse N.Y.’s Metropolitan TV Alliance (MTVA) for phase one of the NYC 9/11 DTV project for the design and deployment of a temporary digital broadcast system for 10 TV stations throughout the N.Y. city area. MTVA was formed after 9/11. - - Anne Veigle