NTIA Baker Names Acting Coupon Program Administrator
Karl Nebbia will be responsible for the DTV-to-analog coupon-box program
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/12/2009 11:45:00 AM
4:45 PM ET -- Meredith Attwell Baker has tapped Karl Nebbia to succeed her as acting NTIA administrator, responsible for the DTV-to-analog coupon-box program.
He is currently the associate administrator for NTIA's office of spectrum management, which oversees federal spectrum use by everybody from the Post Office to the Department of Defense.
Bernadette McGuire-Rivera remains the associate administrator, directly overseeing the coupon program.
Baker is currently scheduled to exit at noon, Jan. 20, per the traditional request that all political appointees submit their resignations by then.
An Obama transition team spokeswoman had no comment on whether they would appoint their own acting administrator to replace Nebbia. NTIA is under the Commerce Department, which like NTIA is currently without a successor to Secretary Carlos Gutierrez after former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson took his name out of the running.
Last week, the President-elect asked Congress to move the DTV transition date, noting the stoppage/slow-down of NTIA's distribution of DTV-to-analog converter-box coupons. NTIA has pointed out that it gave Congress a heads-up back in November that the program might run into a distribution problem due to an accounting issue that capped distribution funds even before the program technically ran out of money.
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Fresh eyes are needed. Ditch the coupons entirely. Replace with a $160 per family tax credit toward purchase of digital set, converters or antennae. Those who already redeemed coupons would have the coupon amounts deducted from their credit. Non-filers would get a rebate check. This could be part of the Obama stimulus package. For reasons why analog service should be continued for a substantial time period: nowpublic.com/world/u-s-tvs-digital-deadline-obama-eras-first-consumer-crisis
Vic Livingston, columnist, NowPublic.com/scrivener - 1/12/2009 8:09:00 PM EST
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