Digital Television Transition in The United States - Congressional Mandate

Congressional Mandate

The Congressional deadline to transition to digital broadcasts was pushed back several times. Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 with the original transition date of December 31, 2006. The transition to digital television was set back several more times after that. First to December 31, 2008, then to February 17, 2009, and then finally to June 12, 2009.

All U.S. full-power analog TV broadcasts were required by law to end on June 12, 2009. Since March 1, 2007, all new television devices that receive signals over-the-air, including pocket-sized portable televisions, personal computer video capture card tuners, and DVD recorders, have been required to include digital ATSC tuners. Prior to this, the requirement was phased-in starting with larger screen sizes. Prior to the completion of the transition, most U.S. broadcasters were transmitting their signals in both analog and digital formats, though a few are digital-only. Digital stations transmit on another channel, which was assigned to each full-power broadcaster in a three-round digital channel election.

The transition from the analog NTSC format to the digital ATSC format was originally required to be completed on February 17, 2009, as set by Congress in the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005. Following the analog switch-off, the FCC has reallocated channels 52 through 69 (the 700 MHz band) for other communications traffic, completing the reallocation of broadcast channels 52–69 that began in the late 1990s. These channels were auctioned off in early 2008, with the winning bidders to take possession of them in June 2009. Four channels from this portion of the broadcast spectrum (60, 61, 68, and 69) will be held for reallocation to public safety communications (such as police, fire, and emergency rescue). In addition, some of the freed up frequencies will be used for advanced commercial wireless services for consumers, such as Qualcomm's planned use of former UHF channel 55 for its MediaFLO service.

For U.S. cable television, the FCC voted 5–0 on September 12, 2007 to require operators to make local broadcasts available to their users in analog. This requirement lasts until 2012, when the FCC will review the case again. This was necessary since many cable companies, including major ones like Comcast, have been taking analog channels away from customers.

In 2007, a bill in the U.S. Congress called the DTV Border Fix Act was introduced. It would have allowed all television stations within 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the Mexican border, in areas such as San Diego and the Rio Grande Valley, to keep their analog signals active for another five years. The bill passed the Senate but did not pass the House.

The SAFER Act was passed by Congress in December 2008 and signed by President Bush just before Christmas. The act has been called the "analog nightlight" act, and allows analog stations on channels that will not conflict with post-transition digital stations the option of leaving their analog transmitters on for an additional 30 days, but only to provide disaster information and information regarding the digital transition.

Because the Commerce Department no longer had money to fund additional coupons for converter boxes, and on account of other potential problems, the Barack Obama transition team asked Congress in a January 8, 2009, letter to delay the end of analog TV. The Commerce Department announced January 5, 2009, that the $1.34 billion limit on coupon funding had been reached. Gene Kimmelman of Consumers Union, which wanted a delay, feared older people, those outside cities and the poor needed help. Speaking to a group of area residents as part of a nationwide campaign to persuade people to upgrade, FCC chair Kevin Martin said in Raleigh, North Carolina that a delay was "unlikely". He said it would be "unfair" to all those who have made the effort to switch, and to those who bought the reallocated spectrum that was sold with the understanding analog broadcasts would end February 17, 2009. The delay passed Congress despite this prediction (see below).