Latest National Telecommunications and Information Administration Stories

The people who received TV converter box coupons but let them expire can now apply for new ones.The recent stimulus package put more money into the coupon program, allowing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to give people with expired coupons another chance.Households can apply for two $40 coupons that cover the costs of most converter boxes.  Even though there has been 26 million coupons redeemed, 17 million expired at the end of their three-month life...

WASHINGTON, March 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Services (RUS) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have announced upcoming Public Meetings on the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and the additional authority for the RUS to make grants and loans for the deployment and construction of broadband systems as published in the Federal Register....

An official said Thursday, the agency that mails out coupons for digital TV converter boxes expects to eliminate its wait list in two and a half weeks.The economic stimulus package helped the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) by budgeting $650 million. That way they can start to mail out coupons to the 2.3 million households on the wait list, said Bernadette McGuire-Rivera, associate administrator of the Office of Telecommunications and Information...

Consumers will most likely start receiving coupons again during the next few weeks that will reduce the cost of converter boxes for the switch to digital television signals, the federal government announced Tuesday.The switch to digital TV was formally put off until June 12 after the government hit their budget limit for the $40 a piece coupons.With help from the $800 billion economic stimulus bill, the government will send coupons to 4 million households in 2 to 3 weeks, the National...

In just less than two weeks, many television stations plan to pull the plug on analog transmissions, and many Americans who use antennas will find themselves unable to watch TV as they did before. Many viewers had hoped Congress' decision to push back the date of mandatory analog-to-digital switch from Feb. 17 to June 12 meant that they would have extra time to prepare for the transition.However, Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller, D-W.V., author of the bill, added a provision...

The U.S. House of Representatives is taking a second run at delaying the long-anticipated switch from analog to digital TV broadcasts.  House members are widely expected to introduce a bill next week that would give consumers an additional four months to prepare for the transition.  If it passes, the bill goes to President Obama for final approval. House Republicans defeated a previous proposal on Wednesday. That plan would have postponed the currently mandated analog cutoff date of...

The US Senate has voted to approve a bill to delay the date when television stations must end analog broadcasts and begin only broadcasting in digital format.In a unanimous decision on Monday, the Senate voted to support the proposal to change the date of the mandatory nationwide analog-to-digital switch from Feb. 17 to June 12 in light of Nielsen Co. estimates that more than 6.5 million are not prepared to make the switch. "The shameful truth is that we are not poised to do this...

Press Conference in Washington set to discuss role of Media in hate speech and hate crimes WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), one of the country's foremost Latino media advocacy and civil rights organizations, announced today that it will host a press conference in Washington, D.C. on January 28th at the National Press Club to discuss three important elements related to hate speech in the media. Alex Nogales, President & CEO of...

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday approved an economic recovery package that includes several provisions including one for open access in wireless service on the Internet. "This legislation is an important step towards getting our economy back on track," said Chairman Henry A. Waxman in a statement. Under the new broadband package, the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) is authorized to distribute $2.825 billion in grants for new expansions of...

The switch to digital might not come as quickly as TV viewers were expecting.  On Thursday, President-elect Barack Obama urged Congress to postpone the Feb. 17 switch from analog to digital television broadcasting. Many Americans simply won't be ready to pick up over-the-air channels, according to Obama. Obama transition team co-chair John Podesta wrote a letter to key lawmakers Thursday that said the digital transition needs to be delayed because the Commerce Department ran out of money...