IP Democracy: House OKs Digital Broadcast Conversion Plan

Reuters reports that the House today approved legislation to complete the conversion to digital broadcasting by February 17, 2009. The DTV provisions are part of a bill aimed at cutting government spending that Reuters says was narrowly approved by the House and still must be passed by the Senate.

Under a deal negotiated by Republicans in the Senate and House, a $1.5 billion fund would be created to help some consumers buy converter boxes so existing analog television signals do not go dark when the transition is finished…The Senate previously had approved a $3 billion fund and set the date as April 7, 2009 for when television stations must end analog broadcasts and only air their digital signals. The House originally backed a $990 million fund and Dec. 31, 2008 as the date.

Posted by Mitch Shapiro on December 19, 2005 11:37 AM to IP Democracy