Digital TV Converters; Another Bush Admin. Screw-up?

[edhopper]

I don't get how the Government (FCC, I think) can suddenly be out of coupons for the DTV Converter boxes. The number of families that get their TV over-the-air is a known quantity from Industry and Census surveys. So they should have known how many converter boxes would be needed. And the fact that so many people are waiting until the last minute was so predictable. It's just common sense that people would put it off and then after the new year say "shit, I have to get a converter."
So how come the Government is caught unprepared for a big wave of request? This seems to me to be just another example of the gross incompetence that is the hallmark of this failed Presidency.

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. The coupon plan was supposed to be for low-income families to get one converter

With that constraint, the program was adequately funded. What happened was that the restrictions were poorly enforced. People who could afford a converter on their own asked for a coupon, and it is turning out that many homes requested several coupons, either because they had more than one television or (in some cases) because they wanted them to sell to others who could not get one ("I'll sell you this $40 coupon for only $20.")

I'm not saying that the program was not mismanaged, mind you. :hi:

[edhopper]

2. I don't think that's true.

Though a majority of those who still get their TV over-the-air, the coupon offer was for everyone who needed it. They should have been prepared for this.

[hlthe2b]

3. There were no restrictions on who could request....

because even those with cable/satellite and major $$ resources could certainly claim a loss in terms of their ability to use old equipment in the future...


SO, if they made estimates based on exluding those known to have cable/satellite, there's no way they would have had anything close to sufficient funds...

What annoys me is that it appears there are many many many non-cable or satellite-subscribing Americans, who can get a good analog signal now, who will NOT be able to receive the signal at all because it is "all of nothing." Digital signals are not required to maintain strength for any specific distance and as it degrades, you get nada. So the poor, the rural and those who simply refuse to buy into the corporations are SOL, for even emergency broadcasting.

This whole switchover was sold on lies to enrich the few...

[edhopper]

12. I did get a box

and here in New York City (not rural America)I can get PBS Channel 13 in analog but NOT when I go through the converter. So I guess I lose Channel 13 unless they boost their digital signal.
This was a complete rip-off by the Broadcast industry.

[dysfunctional press]

4. homes couldn't request "multiple coupons"- each address could request only once...

and you'd get two coupons valid for 90 days. if they expired before you used them, you were s.o.l., and couldn't request new ones.

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. It seems my information was incorrect.

Granted, what I had been hearing were justifications after the fact.

Thanks for the info.

[surrealAmerican]

6. Is that really part of census data?

I doubt that, even if it is, it could be at all reliable. People who live where it is possible to receive broadcast signals are known to cancel their cable service if it becomes too expensive. Many cable subscribers in such areas also have sets that receive broadcast signals. Those who get "basic" cable (without a set-top box) may not trust their cable system to continue analog service.
That said, you're right, they underestimated the cost of the program.

[we can do it]

7. Does Anyone Have a Coupon They Don't Need?

We barely ever watch tv, and with all the work we did on the election, then catching up on what we neglected at home, we totally forgot!

[onenote]

8. facts about the converter program

First, it was authorized by Congress and is administered by the Department of Commerce (specifically by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is an agency within Commerce), not by the FCC.

Second, the program provided for around $1.3 billion in coupons. The first $900 million or so (covering around 22 million coupons) was available for anyone who has a tv set that relies on over the air reception, even if they also have other sets connected to cable or satellite. After the first 22 million coupons are redeemed, another $500 million becomes available for coupons that can be applied for only by consumers that rely solely on over the air (ie. have no sets connected to cable or satellite).

What has happened is that the redemption rates for the coupons have lagged significantly behind the applications. So, initial threshhold of 22 million coupons hasn't been met -- only around 18 million coupons had been redeemed by year's end. However, over 40 million coupons had been sent out. Because the coupons remain "effective" for 90 days (Congress' decision), the total amount potentially committed is more than the 18 million coupons redeemed, but also the unredeemed, unexpired coupons. THat combined amount exceeds the $1.3 available for the entire program.

What is somewhat screwy is that no announcement has ever been made that eligibility for the coupons had entered phase two--non cable/non satellite customers only. Maybe that's because the actual number of coupons redeemed is still below the $900 million mark. But if coupons are still being sent to folks who also have satellite or cable, then there is no way that there will be $500 million left for the exclusively over the air consumers.

All in all, its a bit of a clusterfuck, courtesy primarily of Congress and NTIA.

[Fumesucker]

9. The redemption rate will most likely remain low except for those unable to afford cable.

I could be wrong but I think a lot of people with cable/satellite might apply online and then never bother to redeem the card in time.

[onenote]

10. Yep. And I have no doubt that a lot of folks who didn't need a coupon at all applied for one or two

[northernlights]

11. why the eff did they make the 1st 2/3s of them

available only to people who can afford cable/satellite, and therefore don't really need them?

And only the last 1/3 available to those who are most likely to need the help?

Oh, wait a minute...it's not 1/20 yet. Never mind. :eyes:

And seriously the other day, I think on our local news, they actually said they may actually not even work in our most rural areas!!!!! But, not to worry. They assured us that all those folks will need to do is subscribe to cable or satellite. Oh for criminies sake -- the most rural areas are the poorest areas in the state!!!!

I refuse to get one. I really only need teevee for the weather, which can be pretty important but usually I can guess at what's happening by looking out the window.

I may break down at some point. But I'm just not ready to give in to the stupidity. All the commercials,the PBS program for morans on how to plug in a converter box, and my general anger at the msm on how they fucked us over for the last 16 years has just reached a climax. Fuck'em.