Digitial switchover officially delayed until June

by Stevie Smith - Feb 5 2009, 13:00

Much as was expected following recent news of a proposed delay to the digital television switchover in the United States, that delay has now been officially passed by the U.S. House of Representatives through a vote of 264 to 158.

Put before the House for a second time this past Wednesday, the scheduled February 17 switchover has now been pushed back until June 12 in order to grant those reliant on analogue transmissions a little more time to equip themselves with the necessary digital technology to make the digital leap.

Concerns regarding a short-term delay to the February 17 deadline pulled focus last week when the Senate-passed bill fell short of attaining vote majority within the House. Had the bill remained a non-starter with representatives, some 6.5 million households across the United States would have been left without broadcast reception on February 17. 

“The passage of this bipartisan legislation means that millions of Americans will have the time they need to prepare for the conversion,” commented the White House in a statement.

“We will continue to work with Congress to improve the information and assistance available to American consumers in advance of June 12,” it added, “especially those in the most vulnerable communities.”

In order to meet the standards required by digital transmissions, those 6.5 million remaining Americans will now have an extra four months to switch from analogue to digital via either a cable or satellite service. They will also need to acquire a digital TV tuner or install a converter box for their existing analogue televisions.

While the extension is good news for those not yet prepared for digital, the approved bill does not include a monetary injection for the now exhausted federal support program that was providing $40 USD coupons towards the purchase of a converter device.

The government has already spent some $1.34 billion USD on coupons, many of which remain unused. The program must now wait for those coupons to expire after a period of 90 days, at which point it will be able to transfer support to the 3.5 million Americans presently languishing on the waiting list.

Also a potential worry for analogue watchers is news that the bill does not prevent broadcasters from shutting off their analogue channels prior to June 12. Likely to create an unevenly staggered and confusing switchover, Republicans have criticised the delay on the grounds that the lack of extended funding or coupon support leaves citizens shouldering the switchover burden.

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