The actual issue is not so much the new TV sales, but the older sets that people still hang on to but they are not affected by the transition. As for the people who rely on antennas of any kind, they will lose their signals then and need converter boxes. Pay-television providers already handle the conversion for their customers.

 

Such customers will require a separate digital converter box to enable them to watch TV without cable or satellite service. This is why the question arises: should people go forward with the conversion as scheduled or delay its implementation until economic conditions improve?

 

On Monday, the House and Senate took up committee bills that will delay the transition nearly four months, until June 12. Nearly 8 million households, mostly low-income and elderly find themselves in this situation. The delay, approved unanimously on a voice vote by the Senate, would give those millions of viewers more time to prepare for the transition. The Federal Communications Commission estimated that about 13 million coupons have not been redeemed, but the government cannot distribute more until they expire 90 days from the time they were mailed out. Consumers were able to request two coupons each, and took more than they needed.

 

President Obama has requested more than $650 million worth of coupons be allocated as part of his federal bailout plan. Therefore, as of Wednesday, 46.5 million coupons had been mailed and 20.8 million redeemed since the program started on the 1^st of January 2008. The waiting list includes 2.6 million people. But in spite of this move, it is expected that 4% of the population will ignore warnings about the transition until it is too late.