Congress postpones digital TV transition to June

WASHINGTON -- TV viewers got a reprieve on Wednesday, when the House voted to delay the USA's transition to digital TV by four months to June 12.

The bill, overwhelmingly approved 264-158, also allows households with expired vouchers for digital converter boxes to reapply for new coupons. The giveback is a major win for U.S. consumers, says Joel Kelsey, a public policy analyst at Consumers Union, a consumer advocacy group.

"This means the federal government has extra time to address the many flaws in the coupon program, to make sure millions of consumers across America don't have a blank screen" when the switch happens, Kelsey says.

The Senate approved the measure last week. President Obama, who favored a delay, is expected to sign the bill quickly.

The digital switch affects only some people who receive over-the-air TV signals. People with satellite and cable TV aren't affected. The transition was ordered by Congress, so congressional action was needed to make a change.

Though the transition date appears to be settled, the fate of the coupon program is still uncertain.

The program, which offers $40 vouchers toward converter boxes, exhausted its $1.34 billion in funding at the end of December. Since then, consumers have been put on a waiting list. The boxes, which cost $40 to $70, turn digital signals into analog. Without them, analog TVs will go dark once the digital switch happens.

The $800 billion stimulus package being considered by Congress contains an additional $650 million for the DTV switch, including the coupon program. The new expiration allowance won't become effective until after the stimulus package is approved, Kelsey says.

That probably won't happen until mid-February, he says.

Gene Kimmelman, another policy analyst at Consumers Union, says consumers shouldn't wait to apply, however. "Go ahead and get on the waiting list," he advises.

As of this week, about 3.5 million requests were on the waiting list, according to the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is overseeing the program. That's a huge jump from the 100,000 on the list in early January.