House and Senate Approve Satellite License Extension

The House and Senate have approved a brief extension of satellite operators' license to import distant TV station signals to subscribers in markets where they cannot get a viewable signal of their own.

The license expired Feb. 28, but Congress urged satellite operators and the program suppliers who receive payment to preserve the status quo and Congress would fix it later. Congress has now given itself until March 28 to pass a full reauthorization bill. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) says there is bipartisan support for that bill, so that when the Senate passes it he expects the House can swiftly follow suit. That would be a five-year reauthorization.