Digital TV: Why the Federal Government Is Screwing It Up

DIGITAL TV: WHY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS SCREWING IT UP
[SOURCE: TVPredictions.com, AUTHOR: Phillip Swann]
[Commentary] On February 17, 2009, the United States will switch from analog to Digital TV signals. At that time, if you don't have a Digital TV or a set-top converter box, you will not be able to watch television. At this point, I have to predict that millions of Americans indeed will be unable to get TV signals on that fateful day because they either didn't buy a new set or they didn't understand the need for a converter box. Why? Over and over again, the federal government has demonstrated that it has no clue how it will persuade consumers to switch to Digital TV. Even worse, there's evidence that federal officials are not taking the issue seriously enough to get the job done. If the government doesn't get serious -- and soon -- one of two things will happen: 1. Fearful that their constituents will storm the gates when they suddenly can't watch TV on February 17, 2009, Congress will be forced to extend the deadline another year or two. 2. The deadline will stay in place -- and millions of consumers will lose their TV signals. The first option would be messy. The second one could be nasty.
http://www.tvpredictions.com/dtvfeds020607.htm