Prepare now for costly switch to digital TV
May 26, 2008 3:48 am Digital TVIt’s a digital world, but don’t think you’re not paying for it.
And the cost is about to get a little higher.
This expense, by the way, isn’t just for people who have digital televisions, cellular phones and other electronics.
It’s also being paid by every American citizen, even those who may choose to use old-fashioned land line telephones and analog TVs.
The latest example of the public being gouged, whether we like it or not, comes in the form of the looming February 2009 deadline when all television transmissions will be digital only.
The transition is mandated by an act of Congress, which supposedly is reclaiming the analog broadcast signals to free up more space for police, fire and rescue communications. We also understand that the federal government was hoping for some extra revenue by selling the extra space in the “spectrum” of broadcasting to commercial stations. However, reports have said the revenue raised may not be as much as expected.
However, that’s not stopping the government from forcing television stations and Americans from spending millions, if not billions, of dollars on this digital conversion.