Government's Digital Tv Subsidy Program Running Out of Money

Summary

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Under the rules set by Congress, which mandated the digital TV switch to free up more room in the wireless spectrum, the NTIA cannot commit more than $1.34 billion at any time to cover the cost of the coupons. That pool includes coupons that have already been redeemed; unexpired coupons that have been mailed out but not yet redeemed; and coupons that have been requested but not yet mailed out.

Coupon requests have ticked up sharply over the past two months as the NTIA, along with the Federal Communications Commission, TV broadcasters, cable operators and consumer electronics makers have ramped up efforts to educate people about the upcoming transition. The NTIA received 184,000 coupons requests on Thursday alone.

[Edward Markey], who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, has said Congress may need to allocate additional funding for the converter box coupon program. At this point, Congress has two options: it could raise the $1.34 billion cap by waiving the accounting rules that require the NTIA to wait for unredeemed coupons to expire before issuing new ones. The NTIA estimates it could distribute up to 56.5 million coupons if those rules are waived.

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Extract

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Government's Digital Tv Subsidy Program Running Out of Money

WASHINGTON - The Feb. 17 transition from analog to digital television broadcasts looms and as many as 8 million households are still unprepared, but the government program that subsidizes crucial TV converter boxes is...

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