DTV delay likely without wireless, public-safety concessions

Congress is poised to approve legislation postponing the digital TV transition from Feb. 17 to June 12, with the public safety and mobile-phone sectors unable to win many concessions they sought.
The Senate last night approved the DTV delay bill after satisfying Republican concerns.
“Delaying the upcoming DTV switch is the right thing to do. I firmly believe that our nation is not yet ready to make this transition at this time,” stated Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), author of the measure. “The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process. I want to thank Senator (Kay Bailey) Hutchison (R-Texas) for her leadership in this effort. I urge our colleagues in the House to pass this bill and I know Chairman (Henry) Waxman (D-Calif.) is working on it.”
Waxman, head of the House Commerce Committee, applauded the Senate action and promptly expedited efforts for a House vote on a companion measure.
“I am pleased that the Senate has acted to delay the deadline, which is our only hope of mitigating the negative impact on millions of consumers,” Waxman said. In light of the Senate action, I will work with the House Democratic Leadership to bring up the Senate bill for consideration [on the House floor] Tuesday.”
Earlier this month, before being sworn in as the 44th U.S. president, Barack Obama urged Congress to push back the DTV cutover because of a funding shortage and other problems.
Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, which paid the lion’s share of the nearly $20 billion on auctioned licenses in 700 MHz spectrum being relinquished by broadcasters, were able to secure assurances from lawmakers and Obama officials that a DTV delay would not be open-ended. At the same time, the DTV delay measure does not appear to include provisions for testing 700 MHz gear prior to June 12 or provide any buildout relief.
Qualcomm Inc., the San Diego-based CDMA technology leader, failed to convince lawmakers to give it access next month to 700 MHz spectrum it bought to expand MediaFLO, a mobile TV service, in new major markets.
Public-safety groups lobbied to be exempted from any DTV transition delay, but lawmakers did not provide the full carveout they requested. Instead, House and Senate bills would enable first responders to obtain greater use of 700 MHz frequencies only in cases where a TV station decides to shift to all-digital broadcasting before June 12.
“This is a huge transition that benefits business and government. We need to make sure that consumers get treated fairly, too,” said Joel Kelsey, Consumers Union policy analyst. “A four-month delay should provide enough time to address the problems with the transition. A delay is a win for consumers, especially the 3 million people sitting on waiting lists for converter-box coupons. We’re very pleased that the Senate moved quickly in a bipartisan fashion to pass a bill. We’re hopeful the House does the same. This is one of the biggest changes for television since its invention. When you’re attempting a change this big, you need to make sure there’s enough time to do it right.”