Senate Passes DTV Transition Measure The Senate approved legislation Wednesday that contains provisions for the nation's eventual switch to digital TV, including the establishment of Feb. 17, 2009, as the "hard-date" for the transition.
The measure was part of the larger Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, and needed a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Dick Cheney for final passage. The bill requires the spectrum auctions, and a release from the Senate Commerce Committee suggested that that effort could raise close to $10 billion for deficit reduction. When broadcasters vacate analog spectrum in February 2009, public safety personnel will have access to 24 MHz of spectrum recovered in the transition. Also, the legislation requires the auction of recovered spectrum by January 2008. In addition to establishing the February 2009 "hard date" for the transition from analog to digital television, the legislation also allocates up to $1.5 billion in assistance for consumers who rely on over-the-air broadcasting and need a converter box in order to continue receiving TV signals once the digital switch is complete. The final bill also stripped out a provision that would have permitted cable operators to down-convert HDTV signals into a "standard definition" signal. source: www.skyreport.com Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list medianews@twiar.org To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
