Plan considered to speed digital-TV shift

[Gregg Lengling]

Mon Mar 15, 6:46 AM ET  

By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

Federal regulators are considering an aggressive plan that would speed the transition to digital TV but would force consumers who don't have cable or satellite service to buy new gear by December 2006.

 

The plan would require the pay-TV services to convert digital signals to analog so they could be viewed on analog TV sets, the kind most people now have, FCC (news - web sites) officials told USA TODAY.


That would let the government reclaim broadcasters' analog TV channels in 2006 so they can be auctioned to wireless firms, paving the way for new and improved services and raising billions for the U.S. Treasury. Also, police and fire agencies are expected to use the airwaves to improve spotty radio systems.


Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) Chairman Michael Powell and the agency's media bureau generally support the proposal. But it's unclear if the other four commissioners would back it.


Broadcasters have greeted the idea coolly. And lawmakers will be concerned about a plan that imposes costs on over-the-air viewers, Capitol Hill staffers say.


Nearly all TV stations also are beaming at least some of their programs in digital as well as analog. Federal law requires them to be all-digital and return their analog channels to the government by December 2006 - but only if 85% of households in a market can receive all the digital broadcast signals.


Nine million consumers have digital monitors, but just 1.2 million have the tuners needed to receive digital broadcast signals. An FCC mandate requires all new TVs to include digital tuners by 2007. But it could be up to 20 years before most consumers replace their sets.


Cable and satellite systems offer a short cut because they serve about 85% of U.S. homes. Currently, cable systems must carry all local broadcasters' analog signals for free, unless the parties reach private deals that involve compensation. And satellite services must carry all analog channels if they carry any, as they do in a growing number of markets.


Under the plan, the government in 2006 would immediately reclaim broadcasters' analog channels in the dozens of markets where cable and satellite serve 85% of homes. The "must-carry" rules would then apply to broadcasters' digital signals. And the pay-TV systems would be required to convert digital signals to analog for consumers with analog sets.


The providers would still be able to supply pure digital signals to people with digital sets, FCC officials say.


Broadcasters, though, worry that consumers who don't have cable or satellite would have to shell out more than $100 for a digital-to-analog converter box, though FCC officials say a subsidy program could be arranged.