WASHINGTON-A key Democrat on the House telecommunications subcommittee Thursday put the brakes on setting a hard date for the digital TV transition.
“I think it is impossible to say at this point what the final outcome will be. We don’t know how big the subsidy program will be. I don’t think you can make the transition until you know how many people are covered and how big the bureaucracy will be to facilitate the transition,” Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), ranking member of the House telecom subcommittee, told RCR Wireless News following a hearing on setting a hard date.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Commerce Committee, didn’t seem to be listening. “I intend to introduce DTV hard-deadline legislation this year,” said Barton. “Clearing the spectrum on an accelerated and nationwide basis with hard-date legislation will raise the money necessary to fund the converter-box program. Without such legislation, this spectrum would remain encumbered for many years and yield far less at auction.”
A preliminary report from the Government Accountability Office said the estimated cost to the federal government under various scenarios of providing subsidies for set-top boxes could range from $460 million to about $2 billion. GAO is preparing a more complete report to be delivered to the House Commerce Committee in July, said Mark Goldstein, GAO director of physical infrastructure.
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission said cable companies are constitutionally not required to carry all of the video streams offered by a broadcaster. Broadcasters had sought a ruling where “primary video channel” would be interpreted as all of their video streams.
