A Bill Advancing Digital TV Is Approved by Senate Panel

The legislation adopted on Thursday was silent on one of the most contentious issues posed by the switch to digital programs - whether cable companies would be required to carry all the new digital programs transmitted by broadcasters. The new technology enables the broadcasters to transmit up to six programs simultaneously in the same space where they now transmit one. They have insisted on legislation that imposes digital "must carry" provisions because, they say, it is essential to the economics of the industry. But the cable companies have balked, arguing that such a requirement would be too costly. The broadcasters and the cable companies have produced competing studies, with cable providers complaining that the costs involved in must carry provisions could be billions of dollars, although some independent analysts have taken issue with the studies. A recent report on the matter by analysts at Legg Mason said, "We view these statements as normal political hyperbole and would note that the worst-case scenarios are unlikely to play out as argued in the context of lobbying." Another behind-the-scenes fight has been brewing over how the government should allocate the so-called "white space" on the spectrum, which viewers now see on those channels that do not carry programs, like Channel 3 in New York. Some technology and Internet service providers, along with consumer groups, have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to approve a new generation of unlicensed wireless devices to make use of the white space. Their efforts are opposed by the broadcasters, who say that those devices would interfere with broadcasting transmission. The transition has also prompted lobbying by the equipment makers, including Cisco Systems and Intel, and by software companies like Microsoft, which has urged lawmakers to preserve a significant amount of the spectrum for free or unlicensed use. Several lobbyists said this week they had heard from lawmakers that in recent months Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-founder, had pressed the issue with members of Congress.