Digital TV With a German Accent

[Gregg Lengling]

02:00 AM Jul. 21, 2004 PT

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers in the House of Representatives will consider Wednesday whether to emulate Berlin in order to speed up the transition of U.S. television airwaves from analog to digital signals.

In August 2003, the German capital became the first major city on the planet to completely transition from analog to digital broadcast TV. And somewhat surprisingly, it did so without any noticeable hiccups.


 Today's the Day. "It directly deals with the problem," said James Snider, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, which endorses a Berlin-like approach.

Snider is among witnesses who will testify Wednesday before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

Many theorize that the Berlin model -- which set a hard deadline to end analog broadcasts, relied on massive government subsidies for digital-to-analog converters and involved pay TV providers "down-converting" digital TV signals to analog -- could work in the states.

"The economics are so favorable," said Snider. "The costs (of subsidies) are so low compared to the value of the spectrum."

In recent years, U.S. lawmakers have been frustrated with the slow digital TV transition. In December, the House Commerce Committee asked the Government Accountability Office (formerly the General Accounting Office) to issue a study of the Berlin transition plan. That report is still pending.

According to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, broadcasters are supposed to give back their analog spectrum by Dec. 31, 2006. However, TV stations can get extensions if fewer than 85 percent of viewers in any market have digital TV sets or converters to receive the new digital signals.

Critics have always charged that the 85 percent test is a massive loophole that will likely enable broadcasters to hold onto analog spectrum for years beyond 2006.

Broadcasters contend that including down-converted signals on cable TV systems in the 85 percent calculation hurts the rollout of high-definition television.

"There is no high-definition television in Berlin or in Europe for that matter," said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman at the National Association of Broadcasters. "It makes little sense as we move toward HDTV to regress back again to analog. It just turns the whole transition on its head."

The National Association of Broadcasters advocates mandated carriage of digital and HDTV signals by cable operators, without any down-conversion. The cable industry has resisted that approach.

In any event, the federal government is anxious to get its hands on the beachfront TV spectrum, which can carry signals for miles and through myriad obstacles. The FCC wants to auction it off for billions of dollars to wireless companies eager to roll out new 3G broadband services.

In addition, government agencies want to use portions of the spectrum for public safety.

Already, the FCC is toying with the Berlin approach: Under an FCC staff proposal floated earlier this year, analog over-the-air TV transmissions would cease Jan. 1, 2009, leaving millions of analog TV sets essentially unable to receive any over-the-air TV signals at that time.

Some broadcasters are floating alternatives to a "hard date" solution.

"Berlin's great," said John Lawson, president and CEO of the Association of Public Television Stations and a witness at Wednesday's hearing. "But the more interesting model is Freeview in the U.K."

London-based Freeview is marketed by DTV Services, a partnership of the BBC, Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB and Crown Castle International, a transmission tower firm. The advertising-supported service offers 30 digital video channels and 20 digital music channels for free. Customers need only purchase a digital set-top box for slightly more than $100.

"It's just been a huge customer hit," said Lawson. "They're selling 100,000 boxes a month."

Lawson pointed out that a market-by-market transition could yield a faster transition, as spectrum could be auctioned as it becomes available -- rather than all at once when all markets are ready years from now.

Others wonder why broadcasters have remained so focused on HDTV.

"What's really best for the consumer is someone actually defining the benefits of DTV beyond just big pictures, big sound and big bills from Target," said Stephen Jacobs, assistant professor of information technology at the Rochester Institute of Technology. "If industry could move forward and really demonstrate the interactivity and information capabilities of the medium ... they might actually be able to find a way to keep it and put it to constructive use, instead of just hoarding it."

That may be unlikely, but lawmakers will have their hands full Wednesday trying to figure out the best way forward.