Don't Plan on Voucher Extensions for Converter Boxes

Consumers who receive a $40 coupon from the government to subsidize the purchase of a digital-to-analog converter box should act fast, said NBC Universal vice president Bob Okun, who heads the network’s lobbying efforts. That’s because Okun doesn't expect the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is overseeing the digital-TV converter-box program, to extend the 90-day expiration dates the coupons come with, after which they are no longer valid. The 90-day window was initially set up to avoid fraud and abuse in the converter-box program. But since converter boxes have been relatively scarce on store shelves to date -- and only nine out of the current 73 models feature the analog-pass-through capability that would facilitate easy viewing of low-power stations -- consumer groups, electronics manufacturers and retailers have all argued for extending the 90-day deadline to give consumers enough opportunity to find and purchase a box that will let them continue to watch TV on an analog set after the Feb. 17, 2009, analog shut-off.
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