NTIA Asked for Plan to Deal with Coupon Spike
National Telecommunications and Information Administration acting head Meredith Attwell Baker promises to get back to Congress in 30 days.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/16/2008 12:15:00 PM
The head of the digital-TV-to-analog converter-box-coupon program promised to get back to Congress in 30 days with a plan to help deal with an expected spike in coupon requests.
Meredith Attwell Baker made that pledge in response to a request from House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
Markey, in turn, was prompted by a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday that concluded that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration had no plan for dealing with the influx of requests.
"With a spike in demand likely as the transition date nears," the report concluded, "the NTIA has no specific plans to address an increase in demand. Therefore, consumers might incur significant wait time to receive their coupons and might lose television service if their wait time lasts beyond Feb. 17, 2009."
Baker countered that the plan was to ask Congress for more money to administer those requests, but Markey said he wanted the details of a plan. He also said he wanted answers to questions he and House Commerce Committee chairman John Dingell (R-Mich.) had about that request to Congress within 48 hours.
Baker said she would try her best and that staffers were drafting answers.
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