Bush Administration Does Not Support Moving DTV Date
NTIA acting head Baker released a statememt regarding the current DTV transition situation
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/8/2009 12:05:00 PM
The new administration may want to move the DTV transition date, but the old one apparently still doesn't.
Meredith Attwell Baker, acting head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), the Bush administration's telecom policy advisor, had no official comment on
Barack Obama's request that the Congress move the DTV transition dates
. But a government source with knowledge of the White House's thinking says the current administration does not support moving the date.
Baker did release a statement Thursday as the issue of moving the date heated up, driven by NTIA's announcement Monday that the DTV-to-analog converter box coupon subsidy program had run up against its $1.34 billion ceiling and would have to start putting people on a waiting list.
“We are working with Congress and other stakeholders so coupons can be processed and mailed without further delay,” said Baker.
“While we have reached a temporary limit on the number of coupons we can issue, we expect to be able to issue several million additional coupons during the course of the program, and we are working with Congress to make that happen. Since the program began in January 2008, NTIA has urged households to apply for coupons as soon as possible, so they can be fully prepared by February 17, 2009. We have been communicating with Congress throughout the Program and advised as early as November 6 that coupon demand may hit the $1.34 billion obligation limit by mid-January.”
“NTIA has been committed to efficiently implementing the program to ensure that Americans know their options for the transition. We remain committed to ensuring the smoothest transition possible within the requirements of the program established by Congress."
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Face-saving. Better to stop and fix it than to push on and experience a breakdown on Feb. 18th. A wiser position: sign onto a bill that "conforms" the U.S. date with Canada's, Aug. 31, 2011. Time for the marketplace to take care of things. Also, $100 tax credit good toward a digital TV, converter and/or antenna. No coupon fulfillment costs. And hold post-mortem hearings to find out why the program failed and how much money was wasted. www.nowpublic.com/world/u-s-tvs-digital-deadline-obama-eras-first-consumer-crisis
Vic Livingston, columnist, NowPublic.com/scrivener - 1/8/2009 6:41:00 PM EST -
Face-saving. Better to stop and fix it than to push on and experience a breakdown on Feb. 18th. A wiser position: sign onto a bill that "conforms" the U.S. date with Canada's, Aug. 31, 2011. Time for the marketplace to take care of things. Also, $100 tax credit good toward a digital TV, converter and/or antenna. No coupon fulfillment costs. And hold post-mortem hearings to find out why the program failed and how much money was wasted. www.nowpublic.com/world/u-s-tvs-digital-deadline-obama-eras-first-consumer-crisis
Vic Livingston, columnist, NowPublic.com/scrivener - 1/8/2009 6:40:00 PM EST
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