# Mike Powell, Said Digital Tv Target Date May come sooner then yr 2006



## openhouse (Jan 25, 2003)

*FCC Ponders Novel Way to Push Digital TV - Sources*

By Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) is contemplating a creative way to advance the stalled transition to digital television and sell vacated frequencies for billions of dollars, sources familiar with the plan said on Friday.

Television broadcasters do not have to give up their analog airwaves until the end of 2006, or when 85 percent of the population can receive digital signals, whichever comes later.

The 2006 deadline is not expected to be met and there is no estimate of when the transition would be completed.

Since roughly 85 percent of U.S. households subscribe to cable or satellite television already, FCC (news - web sites) Chairman Michael Powell (news) and his staff are weighing whether to count those homes, instantly achieving the goal in many television markets, the sources said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

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