Those who use an antennae to get a signal for their television and haven't bought a digital converter box yet may get a reprieve.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-WV, incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, proposed
legislation Thursday that would delay the upcoming digital television transition to June 12.
"I am especially concerned because this transition is going to hit our most vulnerable citizens--the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and those with language barriers-the hardest," Rockefeller said in a press release posted on his Web site. "Rural communities that rely on over-the-air television will be especially impacted."
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., House Commerce Committee chairman, has also introduced a bill to delay the date until June 12.
President-elect Barack Obama and other congressional leaders have asked that the transition from analog to digital broadcast slated for Feb. 17 should be pushed back, saying that many in the country are simply not ready for the transition.
At issue is the waiting list of more than 1 million consumers who have signed up for $40 coupons for converter boxes.
A spokesman at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said although all the convert box coupons have been issued, only about 52 percent have been redeemed.
"We encourage family and friends who have a coupon and don't need it that they share it with others," NTIA Spokesman Todd Sedmak said.
Until Congress makes a change in the law laying out the transition and the Feb. 17 deadline, Americans are continuing to prepare for the transition. KOAT in Albuquerque, N.M., has been running digital tests during their newscasts. And Hawaii on Thursday became the first state in the nation to shut off its analog transmitters. The move was made early to avoid the nesting season of an endangered bird, the Hawaiian dark-rumped petrel.
In Indian Country, federal officials have been working during the past year to prepare Native Americans, especially those in rural areas. Fliers, special meetings and announcements about the transition were done during powwows, conferences and other tribal meetings.
Geoffrey Blackwell, chairman of the National Congress of American
Indians' Telecommunications Subcommittee, said while federal officials have performed good outreach to tribes, more can be done on a government-to-government level to address unique problems.
"Issues insuring a smooth transition in Indian Country hinge not just on direct consumer outreach but also on the federal government's ability to coordinate effectively with tribal governments, who know best their members and families needing assistance and most at risk of getting left behind," said Blackwell, who also serves as director of Strategic Relations for Chickasaw
Nation Industries.
"...Tribal governments and their internal offices can be
engaged as valuable partners in carrying out the governmental side of
this transition," he said.
For more information on the DTV transition, go to:
www.dtv.gov.
Native people from the Southwest to the East Coast have participated in the 
