President-elect Barack Obama has urged Congress to pass a bill delaying the switch to digital television by three months.
The original February 17th mark should be delayed as not everyone affords upgrading their television sets to support the new digital signals.
The problem is that some Americans, mostly those living in the country side and senior citizens, rely mainly on television for entertainment and news. The switch supposes that some of them will be completely shut off from receiving any kind of TV broadcast.
On the other hand the switch to digital television is needed as the rather old analog system cannot cope any longer with the current pace television is moving. Those having digital TV sets or are subscribed to cable won’t be shut off during the switch.
Congress allocated $1.34 billion to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to distribute converter box coupons but the bad news is that the $40 coupons people should receive for the cost of converter boxes have run out of money. This means that those needing the money won’t get them in time for the switch having to spend the money out from their own pockets.
The concern is about the most vulnerable of US citizens, who rely mostly on their TV sets for information and a connection to the outside world. These citizens shouldn’t be deprived of their only means of staying connected and because of this the delay is necessary.
