Having just wrapped its white spaces tour, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hit the road once again to educate consumers about the upcoming digital television transition.
The five commissioners and FCC staff will fan out across the nation over the next few months to ensure that citizens are not left in the dark come February 17, 2009.
“As part of our efforts to prepare consumers for the transition, we have identified television markets in which the largest number of viewers will have to take action to be prepared for the transition six months from now," chairman Kevin Martin said at a press conference in Washington Monday. “This unprecedented nationwide tour by the entire commission is part of our commitment to prepare and educate consumers about the digital television transition."
In order to free up valuable spectrum, television broadcasters will shift from analog to digital signals on February 17, 2009. That transition, however, will render analog TV sets without digital set-top boxes useless, so lawmakers, consumer electronics manufacturers and interest groups have been ramping up DTV awareness campaigns of late.
The FCC's first stop will be in Anchorage, Alaska on August 27. In each city, an FCC representative will host an event like a town hall meeting, workshop, or roundtable on DTV, the FCC said.
The FCC will also work with local broadcasters to increase the number of DTV-related public service announcements, and coordinate with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to explore the feasibility of running DTV transition tests in certain markets before the February switch date.
The five commissioners and FCC staff will fan out across the nation over the next few months to ensure that citizens are not left in the dark come February 17, 2009.
“As part of our efforts to prepare consumers for the transition, we have identified television markets in which the largest number of viewers will have to take action to be prepared for the transition six months from now," chairman Kevin Martin said at a press conference in Washington Monday. “This unprecedented nationwide tour by the entire commission is part of our commitment to prepare and educate consumers about the digital television transition."
In order to free up valuable spectrum, television broadcasters will shift from analog to digital signals on February 17, 2009. That transition, however, will render analog TV sets without digital set-top boxes useless, so lawmakers, consumer electronics manufacturers and interest groups have been ramping up DTV awareness campaigns of late.
The FCC's first stop will be in Anchorage, Alaska on August 27. In each city, an FCC representative will host an event like a town hall meeting, workshop, or roundtable on DTV, the FCC said.
The FCC will also work with local broadcasters to increase the number of DTV-related public service announcements, and coordinate with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to explore the feasibility of running DTV transition tests in certain markets before the February switch date.
