FCC Has DTV-Heavy Schedule

The Federal Communications Commission is having a busy week on the digital-TV front. FCC Chairman Kevin martin and Commissioner Michael Copps are meeting with officials of Wilmington (NC) about the test the FCC is conducting there of the digital switch. Commissioner Copps said that the entire nation will benefit from the lessons learned when TV stations cut off their analog signals in Wilmington. “In any effort of this scale, there are unknowns that no one anticipates and you find out about only when you throw that switch,” Commissioner Copps said. “That's the category that really keeps me up at night. That’s why this test is so important.” The FCC is also hosting a town meeting at its Washington (DC) headquarters aimed at seniors, one of the groups targeted for special attention and help. That meeting will include D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and local news anchor J.C. Hayward, a member of the National Association of Broadcasters' speakers bureau on the DTV transition. The NAB estimated that about 50,000 Washington households receive over-the-air TV exclusively. "One in five households [are] at risk of losing their television signals Feb. 17, 2009, if they do not take the necessary steps to prepare for the transition," the NAB said.
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