This week the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) gave out details of how its $990 million subsidy program will work for the 2009 US digital TV switchover.
It looks like it’s a simple free for all, going to those first in line to ask for up to two $40 coupons per home to buy digital-to-analog converter boxes for TV sets.
If each home takes up both of its coupons and cashes them in, then that’s enough money for about 12.3 million homes to convert to digital. Given that there are around 70 million US homes with cable, and another 26 million with satellite TV, then out of 108 million US homes, that just about covers the conversion for homes that don’t have pay TV, and for these we assume that the households can actually afford to go out and buy their own choice of converter box, if they have other TVs with free to air programming.
The coupon program starts in January 2008, and the switchover happens on February 17 2009.
If the initial funds are used up, the Act permits funding to increase
by $510 million, if Congress thinks that’s justified. If the landgrab for coupons exhausts even this, then new coupons will only be offered to homes that only have over-the- air-only television.
The US government has also put out a list of conditions and a certification program under which equipment suppliers should ensure that there are $40 converters available which do the job, available throughout that transition period.
Coupons will be requested from an NTIA Web site, over the phone or by mail right up until the end of March 2009, when the program will end.