Obama Team, Citing ‘Major Problems for Consumers’, Calls for Delay in DTV Transition

The Co-Chair of President-Elect Obama’s Transition Team has sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to postpone the date for the nation’s transition from analog to digital television (“DTV”). In the letter , John Podesta wrote:

During the Transition, we have discovered major difficulties in the preparation for the February 17 conversion from analog to digital broadcasting. These weaknesses mean major problems for consumers. Because Congress mandated the conversion date and other components of the switch, congressional action is the first step towards addressing the problems awaiting Americans.

With a shortage of federal government issued coupons to purchase converter boxes, possible degradation of service (see Switch to Digital TV Still Fuzzy for Some) and the impact on the most vulnerable members of the population not using newer digital TVs and not having cable TV service, the Obama team’s concerns are well-founded.

For more on the DTV transition issues, see Static! More Stumbles in DTV Transition May Leave Many New Yorkers Without Service.

Lou Manuta