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<DIV>The Feb. 17 DTV transition will likely be scrubbed, replaced by a later
date to be announced. See <A
href="http://www.RadioandRecords.com">www.RadioandRecords.com</A> below:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<TD class=popup_date vAlign=top width=511 height=13>Originally
Posted On <SPAN id=lblPublishDate>Jan 16, 2009</SPAN> </TD>
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<TD height=44><SPAN id=lblHeadline>FCC's Copps, Adelstein: FCC
'Nowhere Near' Ready For DTV Switch</SPAN>
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<P><EM>By Jeffrey Yorke</EM></P>
<P></P>
<P>The U.S. is not ready to pull the plug on analog television
broadcasts and to handle the "the expected avalanche of calls" that
would follow the transition to all digital signals on Feb. 17, say
the Commission's two Democrats in a Friday (Jan. 16) warning letter
to legislators on Capitol Hill. </P>
<P>In a letter from commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan
Adelstein to Senators John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Kay Bailey
Hutchison (R-Texas) and Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Joe Barton
(R-Texas), they said there were "writing to express our deep concern
about the state of the nation's readiness for the digital television
transition." They added, "We are nowhere near where we should be
only 32 days from a deadline that threatens to pull the plug on
television service in millions of American homes."</P>
<P>"Unlike Y2K, the DTV transition has not been the focus of a
sustained and coordinated public-private partnership," they wrote.
"While the FCC and others have been scrambling recently to ramp-up
their DTV efforts (often in response to Congressional oversight),
the late start has led to a rushed effort with little room for
strategic thinking or for anticipating and fixing problems that have
arisen." </P>
<P>Copps and Adelstein said that a delay could give the various
parties responsible for the change time to fix inadequate
coordination between the FCC and the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration and other potential government
stakeholders. They delay would also give the agencies involved time
to better educate the public, which has been struggling with the
transition at large, and to bolster the government-backed converter
box coupon program, in particular. </P>
<P>The commissioners also believe that a delay would help the Feds
fix the significant reception antenna problems that loom. They say
that when they began to travel the country as part of the public
information tour about the transition it became apparent that
"reception/antenna problems are one of the most common complaints we
hear" from consumers and that "we only recently identified the scope
of the potential service losses that some stations will experience
and there is no plan for notifying affected consumers that they may
lose service." They listed additional issues involving closed
captioning and "inadequate consumer support."</P>
<P>The state of DTV transition has been a huge concern for
government officials and broadcasters alike; all are concerned that
too many Americans will lose their signals when the shift takes
place. On Jan. 8, President-elect Barack Obama asked Congress to
delay the transition because of the lack of preparedness. NAB
president/CEO David Rehr said the request from Obama's transition
team "reaffirms the importance of free and local broadcasting in the
fabric of American life." He added, "NAB looks forward to a
continuing dialogue with the new White House and new Congress to
ensure a successful DTV transition."</P>
<P>Obama is expected to nominate Julius Genachowski to replace FCC
chairman Kevin Martin who this week turned in his resignation
effective Jan. 20. Martin will join the D.C.-based, non-partisan
Aspen Institute as a senior fellow.
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<TD class=Arial_10_ff0000 vAlign=center align=middle><B>Copyright © 2008
The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. </B></TD>
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<TD class=popup_date vAlign=top width=511 height=13>Originally
Posted On <SPAN id=lblPublishDate>Jan 14, 2009</SPAN> </TD>
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<TD height=44><SPAN id=lblHeadline>McDowell Says FCC Isn't
Ready For DTV Transition</SPAN> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR>
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<P><I>By Jeffrey Yorke</I></P>
<P></P>
<P>The FCC must be "better organized, more energetic and must
coordinate its efforts in a more open and collaborative manner" if
it's going to pull off the national transition to all-digital
television signals, said commissioner Robert McDowell on Wednesday
(Jan. 14) in a letter sent to fellow Republican and FCC chairman
Kevin Martin. </P>
<P></P>
<P>In a letter meant to put his position in writing and on the
record, McDowell said he still believes that the commission could
remedy the problems in time to meet the Feb. 17 cutoff date, but he
said he has "increasing concern about the Commission's ability to
handle what will be a crush of inquiries in the coming days and
weeks regarding the transition" to DTV. He called the FCC's efforts
to date "inadequate" and complained to Martin that his "fellow
commissioners have not been brought into planning discussions"
concerning national call centers where consumers' questions about
converter boxes are handled at the FCC Consumer Center. McDowell was
critical of the way calls have been handled, pointing to the sloppy
technology involved.</P>
<P></P>
<P>"Callers who opt for a live operator are sometimes spontaneously
disconnected rather than re-routed," he said. "I also am concerned
that our call center has not been staffed on recent weekends, when
consumers having difficulties with newly purchased converter boxes
are likely to reach out for help. Given that we have not yet reached
the transition date, I am especially concerned by this apparent lack
of readiness."</P>
<P></P>
<P>Despite the Obama transition team's message to Martin sent last
week through Sen. Jay Rockefeller's Senate Commerce Committee asking
for the Commission to delay the transition, Martin has refused to
put off the date. He has said it will confuse consumers. The DTV
transition is expected to be not only the hottest FCC topic in the
coming weeks but also the only topic the FCC handles during the
first month of the new Obama Administration, leaving station
ownership, the Fairness Doctrine and localism rules on the
sidelines.</P></SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD>
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<TD class=Arial_10_ff0000 vAlign=center align=middle><B>Copyright © 2008
The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. </B></TD>
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<TD class=popup_date vAlign=top width=511
height=13>Originally Posted On <SPAN
id=lblPublishDate>Jan 08, 2009</SPAN> </TD>
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<TD height=44><SPAN id=lblHeadline>Obama Wants Delay In
DTV Transition</SPAN> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR>
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<P><I>By Jeffrey Yorke</I></P>
<P></P>
<P>A dozen days away from taking office as the 44th president
of the United States, Barak Obama is wrestling with a
mind-boggling $1.2 trillion deficit, fast-mounting
unemployment, a horrifying war in the middle east bubbling up
-- not to mention two wars that the U.S. is fighting in Iraq
and Afghanistan -- and he still has time to worry that
America's televisions won't work after Feb. 17 when the
FCC-ordered all-digital signal goes into effect.</P>
<P></P>
<P>On Thursday (Jan. 8), the Obama Transition Team reached out
to newly seated Senate Commerce Committee chairman Jay
Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and asked him to lean on the FCC to get
it to delay the long-awaited switch from analog signals to
digital only. </P>
<P></P>
<P>"I've long believed that there is too much at stake for
consumers and for public safety to simply cross our fingers
and hope for the best when it comes to the digital-television
transition," said Rockefeller in a prepared statement.
"Millions of Americans could be left in the dark if this
doesn't go smoothly."</P>
<P></P>
<P>Rockefeller, who has long been on the edge of his chair
watching the Kevin Martin-led FCC, added, "The Obama
Administration deserves time to bring order to what has been
an appallingly mismanaged process by the Bush Administration.
I look forward to reviewing the details of the Obama
Administration proposal with my colleagues and will support
delaying the current date of the DTV transition until we can
do it right."</P>
<P></P>
<P>FCC commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, has for the
past 18 months been publicly critical of the way the FCC has
prepared the public for the monumental transaction. "More time
can only help put in place the kind of consumer-focused
outreach and assistance that should have been up-and-running
months ago," he said.</P>
<P></P>
<P>The FCC could take up the request during its Jan. 15 public
meeting. It released the meeting's agenda Thursday evening,
and it includes a discussion on the "Implementation of
Short-Term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act,"
"Establishment of DTV Transition 'Analog Nightline' Program,"
and a presentation on the "FY 2008 Senior Executive Service
Performance Ratings, Bonus, and Pay Increase Recommendations."
The SES, as it is known in federal government service, is an
elite corps of bureaucrats, the top of the pile, who earn
between $117,787 and $177,700
annually.</P></SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD>
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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 1/22/2009 11:38:06 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
alice@ewenwalker.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>If you
have cable service, you should not need a converter box. The box is for people
who don't have cable and who are using older TV's that are not digital-ready.
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>If you want to get a converter box, you can get a $40 off coupon usable
at any retailer by going to this website:</DIV>
<DIV><A title=https://www.dtv2009.gov/ href="https://www.dtv2009.gov/"
target=_blank>https://www.dtv2009.gov/</A> </DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Alice Ewen Walker<BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 10:39 AM, Sue Collins <SPAN
dir=ltr><<A title=mailto:wheadle@yahoo.com href="mailto:wheadle@yahoo.com"
target=_blank>wheadle@yahoo.com</A>></SPAN> wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Has
anyone else received a lot of different information as to whether or not
they'll need a digital converter in February? Each time I contact
Comcast, I get different answers. I have an older analog TV. I
have basic cable service, no movies, etc. The cable box on my TV is
the older style box, not the newer digital box. I've been told on
various calls/computer chats with Comcast that; on call #1 I was told no
problem, I'm good to go; on call #2; if I have the older cable box, I'll
need a digital cable box or converter; and #3; even if I have the older
cable box, as the signals will be sent digitally to all Comcast customers, I
SHOULD BE ok. (operative phrase, "should be.") I admit to being
technologically challenged, hopefully someone out there is more in-the-know
on these things? Thanks for any help you can give
me.<BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>TownTalk
mailing list<BR>To post to the list, send mail to <A
title=mailto:TownTalk@riverdale-park.org
href="mailto:TownTalk@riverdale-park.org"
target=_blank>TownTalk@riverdale-park.org</A><BR><A
title=mailto:TownTalk-request@riverdale-park.org
href="mailto:TownTalk-request@riverdale-park.org"
target=_blank>TownTalk-request@riverdale-park.org</A> is for automated
subscription processing only<BR><A
title=http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk
href="http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk"
target=_blank>http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk</A><BR><BR>For
more information about Riverdale Park, visit <A
title=http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info/
href="http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info/"
target=_blank>http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info</A><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><BR
clear=all><BR>-- <BR>Alice Ewen Walker<BR>Councilwoman, Ward 1<BR>Town of
Riverdale
Park<BR></DIV><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>TownTalk
mailing list<BR>To post to the list, send mail to
TownTalk@riverdale-park.org<BR>TownTalk-request@riverdale-park.org is for
automated subscription processing
only<BR>http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk<BR><BR>For more
information about Riverdale Park, visit
http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT><br/><font style="color:black;font:normal 10pt arial,san-serif;"> <hr style="margin-top:10px"/><b>A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. <a href="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=DecemailfooterNO62"> See yours in just 2 easy steps!</a></b></font></DIV></BODY></HTML>