End of Subsidies
By early January 2009, the NTIA had issued $1.34 billion worth of coupons for converter boxes, reaching the obligation limit set by the U.S. Congress in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005. As a result, the NTIA started placing requests for coupons on a waiting list, issuing coupons as previously-issued but unredeemed coupons reached their expiration date.
In December 2008, FCC commissioner McDowell urged "those who don't need the government subsidy not to wait on that process before purchasing a converter box for themselves or as a gift for someone else. During the weeks it takes for the government to process coupon requests, you will lose precious time to hook up the box, check antenna connections, and start enjoying free digital broadcast TV right away."
As economic conditions in the US continued to worsen, demand for the converters increased. Nielsen Media Research estimated in August 2008 that 25 percent of affected viewers would opt for inexpensive converters instead of replacing existing televisions or switching to cable and satellite television subscriptions. By November 2008, 38.3 percent were planning to buy the less-costly converter boxes.
Many retailers had stocked converters based on coupon use and shortages of the converter boxes themselves remained possible. In early February 2009, the Consumer Electronics Association estimated that three to six million converters were available, while Nielsen estimated 5.8 million American households were completely unready for digital transition. The New York Times estimated that converter supplies could run out by the end of the month. Manufacturers who had halted production ahead of the original February 17, 2009 deadline were to resume converter box assembly but this new stock was not expected in stores until April.
Legislators from the American southwest were among those supporting a delay in the digital cutover, citing safety concerns because as many as a quarter of households in television markets there had not prepared to receive digital signals by January 2009. A judge from Hildago County, Texas noted that Latino, low-income, elderly, and rural homes were at risk. Some residents could receive analog signals from Mexico; Mexico does not plan to transition to digital transmission until the end of 2015.
Read more about this topic: Coupon-eligible Converter Box