Congress votes to delay digital-TV conversion - Denver Business Journal:

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The move, if signed into law as expected by PresidenfBarack Obama, delays the officiao deadline for the switch by four months from its originap Feb. 17 date. Concerns that an estimated 6.5 million including about 1.5 million households in are unprepared for the change to digital signalw promptedthe delay. A Jan. 22 report from The estimated that Houstonm had nearly 10 percent of the populatiomn not at all ready forthe conversion. The reporrt examined 56 local markets. Earlier reports had put Houston at the top of the list for metropolitan areas not read forthe conversion. The Bayou City at one time had as muchas 15.8 percenft of the population not ready.
The Januarhy report shows Houston moved down to thirsdbehind Albuquerque-Santa Fe, N.M. at 12.2 percenr and Dallas-Fort Worth at 10.2 percent. Broadcasters may stilol chose to switch to digital transmission prior to the new The vote bythe U.S. House of Representativess reversed the outcome ofa Jan. 28 House vote in whicjh the bill failed to getthe two-thirds majorit it needed to advance. The digita change will only affect televisions not connected to cablse or satellite television service and that predater the manufactureof digital-ready sets. Viewersa with such analog-only sets can buy converter boxea making them able to playdigitaol broadcasts.
The oversaw a program that issued $40 rebates to cove the cost ofconverter boxes. The rebatse program ran out of couponsweekz ago. Federal economic stimulus legislation under discussion in Congress included morethan $600 million in new fundingt for converter-box rebate coupons. Congress originally mandate the switch to digital broadcasting as a way to make use of publiclh owned broadcast spectrummore efficient. It is also meant to free spectrum for a nationalemergency responder’s communications Once TV stations leave the 700 megahertzz band of the telecommunications firms plan to use much of it for new wirelessx broadband services.
The FCC auctioned off the use the vacateed spectrumfor $19.4 billion last spring. One of the buyingg companies was FrontierWireless LLC, an off-shoogt of Englewood-based (NASDAQ: and (NASDAQ: DISH). It spent $712 milliojn for spectrum covering most ofthe U.S. Now the telecoj companies will have to wait longe for broadcasters to stop usin gthe frequencies. It’s not clear whether that will delat the arrival of new wirelessbroadband services.