FCC official: Government has bungled digital TV transition

BRISTOL, Va. – The federal government has bungled implementing digital television and should delay or phase in the process, a Federal Communications Commission official said here Tuesday.

During a morning town-hall meeting, Michael Copps, one of four commissioners who oversee the federal agency, addressed issues surrounding the planned Feb. 17 switch-over from analog to digital TV.

Next month, all U.S. broadcast stations are scheduled to begin broadcasting an exclusively digital signal – forcing millions to purchase converter boxes for their analog TV sets. About 70 million U.S. TV sets depend on over-the-air signals.

"We are not going to be ready," Copps told a crowd of about 50, which primarily included representatives of area broadcast stations and the news media.

Copps and U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., said the government converter box coupon program is temporarily out of money. In addition, there might not be enough boxes and there is no funding for technical assistance or call centers to help consumers connect the boxes.

Asked by a reporter if the government has bungled the entire process, Copps agreed.

"I think so," the commissioner said. "Certainly a good case could be made for that. This was an opportunity where the public could use government, and we haven’t done a good job."

While there are reasons to proceed with implementation as scheduled, Copps said he agrees with President-elect Barack Obama that a temporary delay is needed.

"This isn’t just a matter of missing an episode of your favorite soap opera or reality show, this is about public safety if there are snowstorms or other information people need," he said.

People with cable or satellite TV, a newer digital TV or those who have connected the converter boxes to their older, analog televisions should have no problems, Copps said.

Problems likely lie with those who haven’t yet purchased the boxes – which sell for about $50-$70 – or are waiting for their $40 government coupons to defray the cost or if antennas can’t pick up the signal.

Currently, there are more than 1 million unfilled applications for rebate coupons, Copps said. In addition, federal officials don’t know how many people might not receive any TV signal once the transition is complete.

"There are pros and cons," Copps said. "But they’ve taken five years to implement digital television in Great Britain, and they only have a population of 60 million. Why do we think we can just throw a switch on Feb. 17 and hope for the best?"

While the digital conversion has been talked about in the United States for a decade, the campaign only began two years ago.

Boucher, who now chairs the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, predicted that any decision about a delay will come soon.

He also blasted the Bush administration and the former Republican-led Congress for the current plight.

"They opted to do it on the cheap," the 9th District congressman said Tuesday. "As recently as last year, the Bush administration said there was plenty of money and we would have a smooth transition. Now, that is not the case."

In 2004, the government auctioned the current analog spectrum to a group of wireless providers for $20 billion and set aside $1.3 billion to fund the transition program.

"I said at that time it would probably cost more like $3 billion, and it looks like that is close to the right amount," Boucher said.

The balance of the $20 billion went into the government’s general fund.

Current discussions about the next federal stimulus package could include funding for the coupon program and to staff FCC call centers and provide other technical assistance for consumers, Boucher said.

"To delay this would create numerous problems. It would create substantial costs for broadcast stations to operate both transmitters, or in some cases they may have already contracted to have those analog transmitters removed," Boucher said. "At the same time, you have wireless providers who bought the analog bandwidth at auction, who are ready to implement a series of new services for hand-held devices."

The cost of a delay would be a "huge deal" for stations, said Jack Dempsey, general manager of WJHL News Channel 11, the Herald Courier’s broadcast partner.

"It’s an enormous expense for electricity, something like $10,000 to $12,000 a month for five or six months," Dempsey said.

The Johnson City station already has spent about $3 million for the transition and expects to double that investment. News Channel 11 has broadcast both types of signals for several years.

"But I think there are definitely people in our region who will not be able to get digital TV," Dempsey said.

In fact, a report on the FCC Web site shows that people who live at the edge of a station’s coverage area can expect problems.

"As early as 1997, in adopting the initial DTV table of allotments, the commission observed that not all stations would replicate their existing coverage area. In fact, the commission observed that 93 percent of all stations received a channel that provided at least 95 percent service area replication," according to the FCC report.

Duane White currently can’t pick up News Channel 11’s analog signal at his Johnson County home and worries what the transition will mean.

"Channel 2 out of Sneedville [Tenn.] is my favorite channel, and they said I may not be able to get it," White said after the meeting. "I may have to get a new antenna. I have an outdoor antenna now, but I don’t know how good it is."

Copps urged White to check coverage maps posted on the commission’s Web site to see what areas will be served by the digital signals. A check of the site, however, found that it doesn’t include listings for any broadcast stations in the Tri-Cities area.

However, WSJK Channel 2 is included in the FCC’s Knoxville report, which shows areas of Johnson and Carter counties are expected to lose the station’s signal.

Dave Ratliff of Bee, Va., told Copps he is worried about some of his Dickenson County neighbors who don’t have or can’t afford satellite service.

Eddie Copenhaver, of Meadowview, Va., said he’s experienced a number of problems when connecting the converter boxes.

"I’ve hooked up three so far, and I’ve never had one work yet," Copenhaver said. "It works fine one day and the next, there’s nothing. I’ve talked to other people that’s happened to."

Copenhaver said some of his neighbors also are concerned about whether their antennas will work with the new signal.

Broadcasters hope the process proceeds, but understand if the government opts to delay the switch, Dempsey said.

"At the end of the day, we’re all public servants, so if the government decides to extend the deadline, we’ll go along with it," Dempsey said.