Barton, Upton Unveil Digital TV Transition Act Committee Markup Scheduled for Wed., Oct. 26th WASHINGTON - Legislation to give America's first responders life-saving communications capabilities and complete the digital television transition was proposed today by leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. U.S. Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, made public the Digital Television Transition Act of 2005 and announced plans to markup the legislation on Wednesday, October 26th. "The transition from analog to digital television will be one of the most significant technology transformations in our lifetime," Barton said. "Done the right way, it will mean better television for millions of Americans, cutting-edge new services in the marketplace, and better communications capabilities for first responders. Current federal law guarantees the opposite. The interests and continued prosperity of the American people demand we do better." "If we learned anything from 9-11 and Katrina, we learned that our first responders are woefully unequipped as it relates to interoperability," Upton said. "Clearing spectrum for our first responders is not only the right thing to do, it surely helps us be better prepared for our next emergency. This legislation ensures that the transition for every consumer throughout the nation will be a smooth one as we enter the digital age. The stakes are too high for Congress not to get the job done." Congress has already earmarked a portion of the nation's airwaves (in the 700 megahertz bandwidth) to provide our first responders with enhanced radio equipment. The 9/11 Commission has specifically recognized the importance of using this spectrum for public safety. The committee has held five hearings since last year on the digital television transition. Specifically, the bill: Sets a hard date of December 31, 2008 for the end of analog television broadcasts. After that date, television stations will broadcast exclusively in digital. Authorizes the use of spectrum auction proceeds to provide as many as two converter boxes per household to enable viewers to watch digital broadcasts on their analog sets. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will administer the Digital Television Conversion Fund, which will provide just under $1 billion for the following program: From the date of enactment, NTIA will embark upon a major consumer education campaign regarding the end of analog television service, the options for consumers to continue to watch television with analog televisions, and the availability of the Digital-to-Analog Converter Program to assist consumers in purchasing converter boxes that will enable them to watch digital television on analog sets. Each household, regardless of whether it subscribes to cable or satellite service, may obtain up to two coupons that can be applied towards the purchase of a digital-to-analog converter box. Each coupon will have a value of $40. Consumers will be required to affirmatively request coupons from NTIA. Consumers may obtain coupons from January 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009. Requires the FCC to complete a series of proceedings necessary to assign broadcasters final digital channel assignments. Requires the FCC to begin an auction of the spectrum currently used by the broadcasters for analog television service by January 7, 2008 (other than of the 24 MHz of spectrum currently used for analog television service that will be given to public safety and the 18 MHz that has already been auctioned). Obligates broadcasters, cable operators, retailers, and television manufacturers engage in a consumer education campaign regarding the transition. Mandates all new televisions of 13 inches or more must include a digital tuner by March 1, 2007. The FCC deadline for larger sets is earlier. Television sets without digital tuners already in commerce must have warning labels regarding their inability to transmit digital television programming. Requires cable systems with a capacity greater than 550 MHz to transmit a standard definition version of a must-carry broadcast signal as well as an analog version of that signal for five years after the hard deadline. After five years, all cable systems must transmit whatever digital version of a station is sent to them by a broadcaster. ####