|
Aid For Digital TV Shift Misses Target Audience
(Tampa Tribune (FL) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 26--SEFFNER -- Feb. 18 could be an especially frustrating day for people watching TV in some nursing homes, RV parks and mobile home villages.
That's because people there are the most likely to find their TV sets go blank from a glitch in the transition from the traditional over-the-air analog television to digital TV in the United States.
Ironically, that is the group of people the federal government most hoped to help with $40 coupons toward digital converters that make analog TVs work in a new digital TV world. But therein lies a whopping gap in the system -- and one the federal government admits is big enough to become a headache for many people.
Seniors living in group nursing homes, travelers in RVs and anyone who receives mail at a Post Office box aren't considered an official "household," as defined by federal law. That means they can't legally receive the $40 federal coupons, and they would have to pay full price for a converter box at retail stores, typically about $50.
It could emerge as a big problem locally, as nearly 1 in 10 families in the Bay area own only older TVs that won't work Feb. 18, TV ratings company Nielsen said. There's a fix under way to work around the "household" definition problem, but it may not take effect until early next year.
"Until then, have a family or friend who is eligible request one and give it to you," said Todd Sedmak, spokesman for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the agency organizing the converter box coupon program. Just make sure the family member or friend doesn't need one too, he said.
It's an imperfect fix, he acknowledges, but the best available for now.
The Transition
The glitch comes as the federal government mandates that TV broadcasters shut down their current analog TV signals on midnight Feb. 17 and switch to digital only signals. That change will open up space on the broadcast spectrum for better digital TV signals, plus it makes room for new and highly lucrative wireless data services.
That switchover also means many older TVs that rely on over-the-air analog antennas won't work because they can't receive the new digital broadcasts. With few exceptions, anyone receiving cable or satellite TV shouldn't be affected. (Most battery-powered TVs will become useless as well.)
Jay and Terry Marchand will fall into that gap. Seven years ago, they sold their house in Lake Panasoffkee, near Leesburg, and went RVing full time in their Winnebago so they could travel the country to volunteer in state parks and forests.
Sometimes, they can use a rooftop satellite antenna to watch DishNetwork TV.
"But if you get a campsite with big trees over you, or you're in a valley, you can't get a signal," Jay Marchand says. "So I wind up the old antenna to get local channels." The TV in the ceiling of their RV will need an upgrade box, but because they only have a P.O. box for mail, they don't count as a household, and can't get a coupon.
"There continues to be giant problems with that coupon program," said Joel Kelsey, a policy analyst with Consumer's Union, a consumer advocacy group. "The people most affected by this are folks who fall into this rabbit hole when it comes to actually using the coupons. A lot of those people live in Florida, in nursing homes, RV parks and other places."
The Catch
That catch boils down to the question of what defines a "household."
Anyone can try to apply to the federal government for a converter box coupon, but Congress funded the program for individual "households." Without more specifics from Congress, the NTIA was left to use the definition of "household" as written by the U.S. Census Bureau, which it interpreted as "a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room that is occupied as separate living quarters and has a separate U.S. postal address."
That leaves out Post Office boxes, which are often used by people traveling in RVs. It also leaves out people in some assisted living centers, dormitories or other group living facilities. Mobile home parks that take mail in one location could also fail the definition.
Federal regulators offer this rule of thumb: If a Post Office letter carrier goes to an address and personally puts the mail into a separate and individual locked box for each address, then those count as a "household" and can receive a coupon. A hypothetical "Mrs. Jones" at Unit 305, 123 Elm Street could receive a coupon, Sedmak said.
If a letter carrier drops off mail in a bundle at one address for someone else to distribute to individual units, then those units are not considered individual households. A theoretical Mrs. Jones, Elm Street Care Center, 123 Elm Street, for example, could not receive a coupon.
"I'm worried about our Alzheimer's unit," said Carolann Dray, a manager at the Hearthstone Assisted Living center on Bearss Avenue. About 100 people live in that ward, she said, and they don't have a personal mailing address: Their mail comes to a central hub, so they wouldn't count as a "household" under federal rules.
The facility does offer cable TV in each room, but at an extra fee, and not all residents subscribe, she said, especially those on more limited budgets.
The Context
The glitch only adds to confusion surrounding the TV conversion.
It wasn't until last autumn that electronics retailers such as Best Buy stopped selling analog televisions and began selling only digital versions. (Any HDTV is digital and should work after Feb. 18.)
About 110 million U.S. households own a television set, according to the Census Bureau, and 73.2 million have cable TV, which means they won't need a converter box. That leaves almost 37 million households that may have only over-the-air TV sets. Yet just 10 million people have asked for conversion box coupons nationwide.
TV ratings company Nielsen found that about 10 percent of U.S. households would be "completely unprepared" for the transition as of May 27 this year, meaning they have no digital TVs, or other TVs hooked up to cable or satellite TV service.
The Bay area could have 159,000 households unprepared, according to Consumer's Union. Since Jan. 1, when the program began, Bay area residents have received about 240,000 converter box coupons. (Likely, households ordered more than one coupon each.)
Only 70,400 cards have been cashed in. That could mean people ordered the coupons but don't need them. Or they don't understand how to use them. Or people are waiting to use them until prices fall for converter boxes.
That's a bad thing, Sedmak says, because people often don't realize the coupons have a 90-day expiration date, after which they're worthless and individuals can't order more.
Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at rmullins@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7919.
To see more of the Tampa Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tampatrib.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Tampa Tribune, Fla.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO East, January 20-22, 2010. Miami, FL.
