Dingell Upset with NTIA's DTV Box Rules
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rips Bush Administration
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 3/12/2007 6:20:00 PM
House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) Monday criticized key portions of the Bush administration's $1.5 billion program to help millions of consumers fund the purchase of converter boxes that will keep analog-TV sets working after the termination of analog TV in early 2009.
Dingell was upset because the Commerce Department's rules would disqualify cable- and satellite-TV homes from seeking financial assistance if the 15-month program spends more than $990 million. Only homes that rely exclusively on free, over-the-air-television could seek any of the remaining $510 million.
"After the administration opposed Democratic efforts to secure sufficient funding in favor of more tax cuts, the administration now shows newfound concern that not all households will be covered," Dingell said in a prepared statement. "If the administration believes additional funds are needed to prevent consumers' television sets from going dark, then it should ask the Congress for such funding."
The Commerce Department's rules were announced by Assistant Secretary for Communication and Information John Kneuer.
The analog-TV cutoff is to occur by law on Feb. 17, 2009. Under law, Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, also headed by Kneuer, had to come up with consumer eligibility rules, which would determine who could apply for two $40 coupons beginning in January 2008
Although the program can fund about 33 million boxes (after all administrative costs), U.S. TV households have about 73 million analog-TV sets that rely exclusively on over-the-air broadcast TV, with about 45 million analog TVs in the 20 million homes that don't subscribe to cable or satellite TV.
Dingell and other House Democrats have been concerned that the digital-TV-transition plan passed last year by a Republican-controlled Congress failed to provide enough money to ensure a smooth transition to digital-only broadcasting.
"The proposed [NTIA] plan arbitrarily limits consumer eligibility for the program after the first $990 million is spent. This is likely to increase consumer confusion about who is eligible for coupons and when they are eligible," said Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) chairman of the House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, in a prepared statement.
Markey said he would soon hold hearings on the NTIA's rules.
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Basically, what you have done is say to poor people “You no longer have the right to free Television reception and we have just made tens of millions of your televisions and VCRs obsolete. If you cannot afford pay television reception and cannot afford to purchase multiple conversion boxes, then too bad for you! How is this in anyway, fare to the public?
What happens if you cannot afford the extra $10 to $30.00 dollars to purchase the converter box(s)?
How do you program VCRs to record multiple programs on different channels with a converter box? I record up to 10 programs a day on 7 to 10 different channels. When out of town, we record from 40 to 80 hours of television programming. It appears that you have just made tens of millions of VCRs obsolete.
Due to bad reception, systems going down frequently and ridiculous prices, my entire family cancelled all Cable/Satellite service some years ago and invested in elaborate high-end roof antennae TV reception systems. My 1 HD TV has great reception and all of my other TVs and VCR have great pictures and reception and we have not had one instance of service interruption or systems going down, ever.
4. Now I have 7 VCRs 6 televisions, my daughter has 9 televisions and 8 VCRs my ex-wife has 6 televisions and 5 VCRs. We have signal splitters and boosters for our antenna systems and have paid
probably $12,000.00 FOR EQUIPMENT. That’s 21 televisions @ $400.00 each, 3 High-End roof antennae @ $400.00 each, 20 VCRs at $100.00 each and $500.00 for miscellaneous splitters, boosters and cabeling. The kids have bought their own televisions and VCRs with summer jobs or work after school. The grown ones rent rooms at home and have their own video
systems but still rely on antennae (analog) reception.
I have been told by experts at retail that certain boxes will not work with certain roof antennae as the signal has to be of a certain strength and this also limits the amount of splits to the signal that can
be had as splitting the signal diminished the signal and will render the conversion box in operable. Certain areas that get week broadcast signals cannot use roof antennae for converter box reception.
So the bottom line is what you have basically forced is We have to be forced into subscribing to pay television service or our $12,000.00 investment in video equipment is virtually useless after 2/09.
I asked Time Warner cable how much it would cost to duplicate the reception and splits of signal that we have going now, for free. They said to duplicate what we have now would cost $129.00 For each household or $387.00 per month for BASIC cable for the 3 households.
Please explain as to how in any way, shape or form this is fair or just to extremely poor people?
What are folks in our position to do? I know many others in the same situation.
Please advise!
Sincerely,
James Bonham
JAMES BONHAM - 4/7/2008 4:56:00 PM EDT -
It is totally unfair to put tv viewers in a position in February 2009 where they are staring at a tv screen with inly snow to watch. Who decided that America''s television audience HAD to buy a high definition sret? High Definition is exciting to view and I would love to have oen however living on a fixed income and retired does''t allow me to purchase one in 2007. Perhaps High Definition sets will bewcome more affordable in the next 2 years.
Murray B. Schwartz - 3/13/2007 5:26:00 PM EDT
