Capps-Rockefeller Legislation to Ease Digital Television Transition Approved by Senate

Press Release

Capps-Rockefeller Legislation to Ease Digital Television Transition Approved by Senate

Bill Would Ensure Emergency Information Remains Available to All Television Viewers

Last night legislation authored by Congresswoman Lois Capps (CA-23) and Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.VA), the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act (SAFER, S. 3663), was approved by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent. The legislation allows for the short-term continued analog broadcast of essential information after the February 18, 2009 nationwide transition to digital television (DTV), including broadcasts of emergency information. The Senate approval of the legislation is an important first step and the bill now moves to the House for consideration. Congresswoman Capps is hopeful that the bill will be considered when the House reconvenes following the Thanksgiving recess the week of December 8th, 2008.

"I am grateful to Senator Rockefeller for getting this common sense legislation to help ease the transition to digital television (DTV) through the Senate," said Capps, co-author of the legislation and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee. "This is an important first step as we work to ensure that no one gets left behind in the upcoming transition. Recently a test transition in Wilmington, N.C., demonstrated several areas in the transition where we still need to improve. If we don't move quickly, up to 1.5 million households could find that their TVs don't work on February 18th—and these problems will likely be concentrated among minorities and senior citizens. Since the government is requiring this change, we should also be doing everything we can to make sure it is as least disruptive as possible. It is my hope that the House will soon pass this needed legislation so we can send it to the President for his consideration."

Under the SAFER Act, after February 18th households that may not have prepared their televisions to receive digital signals will see a "slide" on their screen—in both English and Spanish— informing them that the transition to digital has taken place, and providing a phone number for further information on how to arrange for their televisions to receive digital signals. More importantly, they will also receive emergency weather and public safety information that is broadcast over digital airwaves. The SAFER Act would ensure that this information was available for 30 days following the transition to all-digital broadcasting.

On February 18, 2009, full-power broadcast stations will discontinue over-the-air transmissions using analog signals and instead use exclusively digital signals. Digital television will deliver cleaner, crisper pictures. More importantly, digital broadcasts are a more efficient use of our spectrum because they take up much less space than analog signals. This reallocation of spectrum will allow our country to move forward with one of the key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission: establishing a nationwide public safety network to respond to regional or national disasters.

Consumers who currently receive their television signal through satellite or cable won't notice the switch. The 17 million households who rely exclusively on over-the-air analog signals, however, will need to purchase a digital converter box, which will allow their television to receive digital signals. Congress earlier allotted up to $1.5 billion to provide discount coupons for the purchase of these converter boxes. The FCC, broadcasters and others have been engaged in a multi-million dollar campaign to inform consumers of the upcoming switch to digital.

Capps originally introduced the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act (SAFER) in the House of Representatives on September 23rd, 2008. Senator Rockefeller then introduced similar companion legislation in the Senate. The current legislation, S. 3663, is compromise language based on the original Capps and Rockefeller bills.

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