Stragglers Still Working on DTV Buildouts

Last week, in a little noticed action, the FCC granted DTV construction deadline extensions to 20 stations, giving them until Feb. 17, 2009 -- the last day of analog broadcasting -- to complete their full-power DTV facilities. In asking for an extension, each station made the case that it faced a "unique technical challenge." All the stations are broadcasting a low-power DTV signal. But a range of technical, physical and logistical challenges is making it difficult for them to achieve full-power DTV while their analog channels are still on air.