So this was the problem (he says sarcastically)
They approved it, go figure...
FCC Approves Digital TV License Giveaway
WASHINGTON (Reuter) - Regulators Thursday approved rules giving broadcasters free licenses to provide revolutionary high-definition digital television that will begin reaching viewers in the top 10 markets within 18 months.
Culminating a 10-year effort, the Federal Communications Commission rules call for 30 percent of households to receive the broadcasts of at least three digital TV stations by May 1, 1999. Nearly two dozen stations in the top 10 markets, however, have committed to being on air within 18 months.
Digital TV offers crystal-clear pictures and CD-quality sound, promising to offer the biggest change in TV viewing since color pictures were introduced in the 1950s.
But the decision by Congress to allow the nation's more than 1,500 broadcasters to receive the licenses free of charge has outraged many, including former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, consumer advocates and others.
They charge the broadcasters are getting a multibillion-dollar giveaway in the form of free use of the airwaves. The FCC has valued the digital airwaves at up to $70 billion.
"This is one of the largest federal giveaways of the century," said Gigi Sohn, executive director of the Media Access Project, a public interest law firm.
The technology is expected to promote a "computer-friendly" TV system allowing viewers to watch programs while surfing the Internet over the same "smart box."
Already, its pending introduction has started a race between computer makers and TV manufacturers to woo viewers.
"Our decision ensures a bright future for free over-the-air broadcasting, and thereby secures its continued vitality as the principal source of news, information and entertainment for the American consumer," said Commissioner Susan Ness, who played a key role in brokering the regulatons.
The rules require stations affiliated with the major networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox -- to begin broadcasting digital signals in the top 10 metropolitan areas in two years.
Those markets cover 30 percent of TV households and are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit and Atlanta.
Network affiliates within the top 30 markets -- or 53 percent of households -- must transmit in digital format in 2 1/2 years.
Under pressure from FCC officials, 23 stations have agreed to initiate broadcasts in the top 10 markets within 18 months.
Broadcasters must return their existing analog licenses to the government by 2006. The government is expected to auction those licenses for other uses.
The voluntary 18-month timetable is designed to give manufacturers leeway to ship digital sets in time for the important Christmas shopping season in 1998, when nearly 40 percent of TV sets are sold.
The FCC said it will later consider whether to impose new public-interest obligations on TV stations in exchange for the digital licenses.
"At a minimum, we want free time for political candidates, more programming addressing the educational needs of kids, and more time for community leaders to discuss local issues," the public interest group Media Access Project said in a statement.
The FCC also will consider the impact on digital TV from the U.S. Supreme Court's decision this week reaffirming a 1992 law requiring cable TV operators to carry local TV broadcasts.
The new digital sets are expected to cost anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000. But prices are forecast to drop over time.
Digital technology is expected to allow broadcasters to squeeze as many as six channels through an existing channel, or TV stations could offer a single high-definition signal.
Digital TV also is expected to hasten the convergence of TV and computer technologies. Sports fans would be able to watch a baseball game and split their screen to receive up-to-the-minute scores of other games over the Internet. |
