Senate Panel Votes Against Digital TV Deadline

[Gregg Lengling]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday decided against setting a hard deadline for television broadcasters to air only in digital, but did provide for some aid to help consumers see the new signals.

   

The panel revamped a bill to eliminate a provision that would have set 2009 as the deadline for broadcasters to shut off their existing signals and air only in digital. That would have enabled those old airwaves to be sold to commercial wireless services and given to public safety groups.


The measure was amended to include the possibility that some airwaves used by broadcasters could be turned over to public safety organizations as early as 2008.


But committee chairman Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), an Arizona Republican, had pushed for the hard deadline in part because he wanted public safety groups to get some of the airwaves to solve problems they have had with their communications.


However, after the hearing, McCain said he doubted the measure would advance far in its current form in part because it did not guarantee public safety groups would get the airwaves by 2008.


The legislation also included a provision providing $1 billion in subsidies for consumers to buy a device that would convert digital signals into a format they could see or subscribe to cable or satellite service.

[Tom Snyder]

So do we need to remove our "time left till the end of analog" counter on the homempage?

[Gregg Lengling]

No because this stuff isn't dead...just delayed until after the elections...nothing gets done in an election year...wait til next year...come on Tom you've been thru enough of these to know that the House and Senate only really work 3 out of 4 years (and at that only 6 months of each year).