Text 7989, 100 rader
Skriven 2005-10-28 12:57:36 av Tony Williams (1:379/45)
   Kommentar till text 7935 av Rich Gauszka (1:379/45)
Ärende: Re: Just wait till TV sets "Go Black"
=============================================
From: Tony Williams <tonyw@blarg.net>

How much money will the broadcasters save by switching off the old
transmitters?

I'm sceptical about the 73 million figure too. Firstly, it appears to be a
snapshot of today's usage, not that in 3 years time. Secondly, it includes
households which already have access to digital - according to the article, the
number of households affected is only 21 million, and one converter per
household should be enough.

--
Tony

Rich Gauszka wrote:
> House measure 12/31/2008 - $990 million subsidy vs Senate  04/07/2009 - $3
> billion subsidy. The 4 month difference probably isn't that important (
> unless you 'Go Black ) but the subsidy for converters could be costly
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051027/tc_nm/digital_tv_dc
>
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday
> approved a measure ordering the switch to higher-quality digital broadcasts
> be finished by the end of 2008, setting up a clash with the Senate.
>
> The House panel approved 33-17 a bill that would require television stations
> to end their analog broadcasts on December 31, 2008 so some of those
> airwaves can be used by emergency responders and the rest can be sold for
> wireless services.
>
> The Republican-backed measure offers up to $990 million to subsidize
> converter boxes that would switch digital broadcasts back into analog so
> existing television sets would continue to work.
>
> Democrats argued that the money, which includes $160 million for
> administrative expenses, was insufficient to provide converters for tens of
> millions of broadcast-only television sets.
>
> "We can be responsible ... or we can throw caution to the wind and basically
> have the U.S. Treasury spend over $10 (billion) to $12 billion if everybody
> took advantage of the program," said Rep. Joe Barton , chairman of the
> committee and a Texas Republican.
>
> The committee defeated two amendments to expand the subsidy plan, including
> one that would have given every household two vouchers for converter boxes,
> each worth up to $60.
>
> Lawmakers also defeated an attempt by Rep. Steve Buyer , an Indiana
> Republican, to strip all the money out for a subsidy program.
>
> Pay television services are expected to offer customers either digital
> signals or an analog conversion of the digital broadcast.
>
> The Senate Commerce Committee has approved a measure to set April 7, 2009,
> as the digital transition deadline and includes up to $3 billion to
> subsidize the converter boxes.
>
> Any differences between the House and Senate bills would have to be resolved
> during a conference of lawmakers from both chambers.
>
> JUST WAIT TILL TV SETS "GO BLACK"
>
> Sen. John Ensign , a Nevada Republican, said he would try to cut the $3
> billion subsidy on the Senate floor while Democrats in the U.S. House of
> Representatives warned that Congress would likely face the consequences if
> televisions go dark in 2009.
>
> "When 70 million television sets go black on December 31, 2008, three years
> from now, I can tell you people are going to have very strong opinions about
> it," said Rep. Edward Markey , a Massachusetts Democrat.
>
> Some of the vacated analog airwaves would be used for emergency first
> responder communications and the rest would be sold for commercial wireless
> services, a sale that could bring in $10 billion or more according to some
> estimates.
>
> The House panel approved $500 million to help emergency first responders
> better communicate with each other and across jurisdictions. Lawmakers
> narrowly defeated an attempt by Democrats to increase the amount to $5.8
> billion.
>
> The Senate approved $1 billion for emergency communications.
>
> There are about 21 million homes in the United States that rely solely on
> broadcast television, while most households subscribe to cable or satellite
> services.
>
> Many homes have multiple television sets. The National Association of
> Broadcasters has estimated there are about 73 million television sets that
> may need converter boxes.
>
> Current law requires stations to switch to only digital broadcasts when 85
> percent of the country can receive the new signals, or by December 31, 2006,
> whichever comes later. Experts have said that could take a decade, prompting
> lawmakers to seek a more certain date.
>
>

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