June 12 DTV Transition Causes Confusion
June 12, 2009 in Technology by Archon Digital
Television stations all over the United States began switching off their analog signals Friday morning marking an end to an era of analog television and some one million unprepared American homes who will be left out without TV service.
The long awaited shut down of analog channels opens part of the frequency range for modern digital applications like wireless broadband and TV services for cell phones.
Originally scheduled for Feb. 17, the Obama administration pushed for a delay due to the financial crisis which also cut short the funding in early January for the $40 converter box coupons that the government was giving away. The digital converter box program got additional funding in the national stimulus package.
The Federal Communications Commission put 4,000 operators on standby for calls from confused viewers, and set up demonstration centers in several cities. Volunteer groups and local government agencies were helping elderly viewers set up digital converter boxes that keep older TVs functioning.
An upcoming bidding process for the frequencies involves Google, as among a list of potential bidders released by the FCC that have made a required up-front payment so which have been given clearance to take part in the much awaited high-stakes 700 megahertz wireless auction. Other qualified bidders included U.S. wireless providers AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc, and also ventures involving EchoStar Communications Corp, Cablevision Systems Corp, Qualcomm Inc and Paul Allen of Microsoft.
