The DTV Delay Act might not delay DTV for some

by Scott M. Fulton, III January 27, 2009

While the DTV Delay Act, passed unanimously in the Senate yesterday and likely to be passed on the House floor today, moves the official DTV transition date for the nation from February 17 to June 12, it specifically allows US broadcasters to throw their own switches at any time they see fit in the interim. "Nothing in this Act is intended to prevent a licensee of a television broadcast station from terminating the broadcasting of such station's analog television signal (and continuing to broadcast exclusively in the digital television service) prior to the date established by law," reads the text of S. 328 released this morning to the Library of Congress. Should broadcasters within a given region vacate the analog spectrum prior to June 12, the FCC may determine whether public safety officials may be granted access to the vacated frequencies...evidently in separate determinations per region. Should an individual have been given a government coupon toward the purchase of a digital converter box, the Act states, and that coupon has not yet been redeemed, the government may issue a replacement coupon. This instead of simply extending the validity of existing coupons, and instead of what was touted to have been an unnecessary waiting period for folks trying to re-apply for coupons. The stated purpose of the DTV delay was to reduce confusion. The National Association of Broadcasters, which had earlier expressed its preference that the February 17 date be kept, now supports the Delay Act because it enables broadcasters to make the switch at any time between mid-February and mid-June.

Read more here -->Link