Consumers Union Begs Congress to Delay Digital TV Switchover
The Consumers Union is begging
Congress to extend the deadline for the national switchover from analog to digital television because millions of Americans don't have the converter boxes that will keep them from losing their television signals on February 17, 2009.
[T]he National Telecommunications and Information Administration said on January 5 it does not have enough money to provide coupons to help all of those affected by the transition offset the cost of buying the necessary converter boxes, according to the Washington Post and AdWeek.
More than 100,000 consumers are now on a waiting list for these coupons, according to Ad Week. Nearly 7 percent of households with televisions are not prepared for the conversion to digital, according to Nielsen (as reported in AdWeek). And without the converter box, analog TVs will not be able to receive the new digital signals.
Thus, the Consumers Union is pleading with Congressional leaders, President Bush and President-elect Obama to move the Feb. 17 deadline so as to "to minimize the number of consumers who will lose TV signals."
"Millions of consumers could now be forced to spend their own money to navigate this federally mandated transition. This economic climate is not the right time to ask consumers to dig deeper into their own pockets to pay for the miscalculation by the federal government," the Consumers Union wrote in its Jan. 7 letter to Congress.
It seems that their pleas are not falling on deaf ears. Daniel Reilly, spokesman for Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass), who is the chairman of the House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet, said "But with the date looming, moving the date back certainly warrants further discussion and may be a wise choice."
We think that Congress should push back the date. It's not right that people who can't afford cable or a special converter box suddenly won't have access to television. It's also not safe. In case of a national emergency, everyone needs to be able to turn on the TV to find out what they're supposed to do.
