Digital-TV coupons expire; 54 percent used

Quietly, almost imperceptibly, the last of the government-issued coupons toward the purchase of a digital television converter box expired Monday. After months of hand-wringing over the switch to all-digital TV signals and cries from Congress and the White House to delay the transition by four months because the country was unprepared, Americans managed to redeem just over half of the 64.1 million coupons that were distributed, federal records show. On Monday, the final 200,000 coupons mailed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in mid-August weren't worth the plastic they were printed on, hitting the 90-day expiration date. Redemption rates are somewhat misleading, as the agency counts coupons redistributed to a different consumer after they had expired unused. The agency did not know how many coupon requests came in after the deadline in August. Also unclear is the number of households that still haven't upgraded for the transition. With about $1.8 billion in funding to help Americans ready for the transition by offering $40 toward the purchase of a converter box, more than $500 million remained unused, according to rough estimates. Some states had poor redemption rates — Hawaii ranked lowest at 40 percent — while Iowans were tops, with a 64 percent redemption rate. Barring any congressional mandate, unused funds will return to the general fund. People still in need of converter boxes will be on their own. Store shelves are largely devoid of the boxes, leaving anyone with an analog TV set with few choices.