September 25, 2006

Milton Brown

Office of the Chief Counsel

National Telecommunications & Information Administration

1401 Constitution Ave., NW, Room 4713

Washington, DC 20230

Dear Mr. Brown:

Poorman-Douglas Corporation ("PDC") and Hilsoft Notification ("Hilsoft")
are pleased to submit our joint response to the Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking ("NPRM") issued by NTIA for the "Implementation and
Administration of a Coupon Program for Digital-to-Analog Converter
Boxes" Docket Number: 060512129-6129-01. PDC and Hilsoft are wholly
owned subsidiaries of EPIQ Systems, Inc., a publicly traded company
listed on the NASDAQ. EPIQ has been recognized by Forbes Magazine as one
of the best small companies in America (2004) and a member of Fortune's
Small Business 100. Combined, PDC and Hilsoft employ 221 employees.

For all correspondence concerning our response to the NPRM our company
point of contact will be:

Kelly D. Yaksich, Esq.

Executive Consultant

Poorman-Douglas Corporation

8547 E. Arapahoe Rd., Suite J-573

Greenwood Village, Colorado 80112

303-246-8734

Fax: 303-484-2410

<kelly.yaksich@poorman-douglas.com>

PDC and Hilsoft appreciate the opportunity to submit our response to the
NPRM and we look forward to further discussions as this project
develops. If there are any questions about the information we have
submitted, do not hesitate to contact me using the information above.

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="1.96875in" height="1.3125in"}Cordially,

Kelly Yaksich, Esq.

Poorman-Douglas Corporation

# A. Program Eligibility

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA)
should apply a means test to determine households eligible to receive
coupons that can be applied toward the purchase of digital-to-analog
converter boxes.  Means testing is the most responsible way to
administer taxpayer resources.  As a matter of fundamental fairness,
NTIA should make every effort to ensure that only those who need
assistance in the purchase of a converter box receive it, with the
balance returned to the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety
Fund.  In addition, means testing will reduce the overall size of the
respondent pool and minimize waste, fraud and abuse.

While the cost to process an application requiring proof of eligibility
is slightly higher than an application with no restrictions, savings
will be realized as the overall number of applications will be much
lower and limited to those who truly have an economic need. The possible
alternative outcome in a first-come, first-serve model is that the
households with the highest need end up applying for the coupon after
the funding has been exhausted. With such a diverse population to reach
and educate about the program, it will take some time for many segments
of the population to hear about it and take action. It would be a
disservice to the American public to use the program funds on households
that do not demonstrate a need.

One comment proposes to change the eligibility requirements based on
response rates during the 15-month program administration. While that
type of adaptive system could be implemented, the funds for consumer
education are likely not sufficient to support repeated communications
to the public about "new" rules contemporaneous with the changing
program terms. Establishing means testing will ensure that the fund is
sufficient and that coupons are available for those who need economic
assistance.

An experienced administrator will be able to cost effectively implement
an application process that has means testing as a component of
eligibility.

 

 

**[B. Coupon Value and Use Restrictions]{.smallcaps}**

A paper coupon, which can have several security features, including
unique serial numbers, barcodes, security paper, and consumer
identification, supports the controlled disbursements process by
requiring the retailer to submit both the coupons and the corresponding
merchandise proof-of-sale in order to be paid. The paper format provides
for a fast and economical means to mail eligible applicants their
coupons in a short time frame. As a practical matter, the program
administrator could mail coupons on a daily basis for all applications
processed since the prior mailing. This would allow for efficiency in
the program and minimize delays in providing program benefits to
eligible households. Paper coupons are also straightforward to use.
There is no activation required by the recipient and the documents are
easily destroyed and recycled at the end of the program to ensure
consumer privacy.

A "date certain" expiration date should be printed on the face of each
coupon to simplify consumer understanding of the date by which the
benefit must be used. With a three-month window of opportunity to use
the coupon, the expiration date does not need to be adjusted by an
artificial set of criteria such as taking into consideration the number
of days it may take the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the item or the
exact date a person receives the coupon. Simply calculating the
three-month deadline and printing the actual date on the coupon (such as
April 19, 2008) will suffice. In the event a person needs his or her
coupon reissued, that can be inexpensively accommodated by the program
administrator while the total value of all coupons redeemed and coupons
issued, but not yet used, is monitored. With unique serial numbers, any
expired or "voided" and reissued coupon can easily be tracked in the
program administrator's database with real-time updates to the retailer
validation database to ensure no fraudulent attempts to present "lost"
or "stale dated" coupons.

**[C. Consumer Education in Diverse Communities]{.smallcaps}**

The Consumer Education program here should include production of
messages in varying forms and lengths for use by other stakeholders
(i.e., networks, retailers and manufacturers). Other stakeholders will
very likely provide some level of contribution to disseminating the
Coupon Program message, but it is critical to keep in mind that such
contributions are not guaranteed, and the NTIA will have no control over
the timing or the message content; stakeholders will likely want to
produce their own version of the message, which may or may not emphasize
key information or provide all of the information consumers will need to
obtain the DTA solution that is best for them. Without assurance of
complete and consistent messages, it will not be possible to piece
together meaningful calculations regarding the reach of such
contributions.

The only way to achieve a Consumer Education program that will provide a
guaranteed level of reach among affected households is to include paid
media, under a carefully crafted and aggressively negotiated
direct-to-consumer advertising plan. The program must focus on reaching
those who make up the largest number of over-the-air broadcast viewers
and are also the most likely to rely solely on over-the-air broadcasts
in analog format (younger, lower income, lower education), with specific
outreach to key groups that are smaller but highly likely to be affected
(i.e., various minority groups such as Hispanics, American Indians and
Alaska Natives). Television will be a key component of the program, but
other media and non-traditional methods of dissemination should be
considered for minority outreach.

The Internet will be an important component of the program, and can be
included inexpensively. The official website, containing all information
consumers will need to understand and act, must be designed and written
in clear, concise, easily understood language. Its address should be
displayed prominently in all notice materials, PSAs, press releases,
etc. and stakeholders' sites should include links to the official
website. In order to maximize "top of list" results for the website,
keywords should be registered with all major search engines. We would
not recommend Internet advertising because those most likely to be
affected have lower than average access to the internet, plus the
reality that the options of where to advertise are too vast to achieve
an effective campaign; the available funds must be used judiciously, in
efforts that will garner the most effective reach and efficiencies.

Hilsoft Notifications specializes in designing and implementing
media-based notice campaigns that reach large percentages of affected
consumers, regardless of the target audience size and
profile---including substantial portions of the U.S. population coupled
with an emphasis on particular segments, as is the case here---and we
have accomplished all such notice programs for less than \$5 million.
Two relevant examples are outlined below.

**U.S. Department of Agriculture - Tobacco Transition Payment Program**

When the Jobs Creation Act of 2005 required a massive transition to the
free market from the tobacco "quota" system, Hilsoft Notifications was
called by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to design and implement a
multi-stage notice program informing tobacco farmers and quota holders
of the USDA's \$10 billion tobacco growers' transition payment program.
Hilsoft's expert media planners studied the target audience and analyzed
the coverage of media vehicles in the 500+ targeted counties, in 17
states. Like here, the majority of affected people were not minorities,
but minorities were a distinct and critical portion of the target
audience. The resulting media plan utilized geographically and
demographically targeted media, including television, daily newspapers,
community newspapers, minority publications, agri radio, and minority
radio. Hilsoft designed multi-media Notices using clear, concise, plain
language, with attention-getting graphics and, for broadcast, culturally
appropriate and commanding voices. Notices for Hispanic media were
translated and produced in Spanish. The campaign included a "reminder"
notice, alerting affected people of the upcoming sign-up deadline. Upon
completion of the campaign, Hilsoft Notifications prepared detailed
analyses of each of the various media efforts undertaken. The analyses
illustrated the comprehensive coverage of the campaign and target
audience, as well as the thousands of additional media placements that
were negotiated and appeared free of charge.

**Residential Schools Settlement**

The Canadian government turned to Hilsoft Notifications to design and
oversee the largest and most complex settlement in Canadian history when
in 2005 it faced the need to resolve aboriginal claims of abuse stemming
from century-old treatment in the "residential school" system. Working
to figure out how to locate, reach and inform Indian, Métis, and Inuit
(Eskimo) populations throughout Canada, including in the most remote
parts of the country, Hilsoft undertook a multi-prong,
culturally-appropriate notification effort, which included marshaling
and coordinating the concurrent efforts of multiple different
stakeholders in the litigation, including the government, churches and
lawyers for residential schools Survivors. The notice program was
complicated by target audience profiles that determined that
communicating with Survivors would be difficult, owing to age, education
and language barriers and ultimately Hilsoft produced graphically
appropriate materials in 20 different aboriginal languages, plus English
and French.

It will be critical for the NTIA to be able to say that a well-planned,
effective effort to reach over-the-air television viewers was achieved,
especially to those consumers who are most likely to be affected. Such a
program needs to be done, and can be done.

**[D. Minimizing Waste, Fraud and Abuse]{.smallcaps}**

The converter box program is a sizeable and complex undertaking,
requiring experience and technical resources in a variety of areas to
implement effectively. To keep the various stages of the program
connected and in synch, the program should have an end-to-end solution
provider. From consumer education to the application process through
coupon redemption and final reporting, the program administrator will
need to track, manage, and report key metrics. Attempting to manage
meaningful statistics across various entities involved in program
administration would be very difficult and costly. Furthermore, with a
salient portion of the administration involving consumer and public
communication, having multiple entities managing pieces of the program
could prove frustrating to those the program is intended to serve. In
order for the customer service portion of the program to be successful,
the program administrator needs to be able to provide both general
information about the program rules (for example, how the program works,
the eligibility criteria to participate, the deadlines to apply, or a
request for an application) and specific information to the person
requesting assistance (for example, the status of an application, the
retailer availability to use a coupon, the means by which to replace a
lost coupon, or help in connecting a converter box).

The most cost effective method to implement a program of this size is to
have the major components handled by a single-source provider, including
consumer education, application dissemination, informational website,
toll-free phone support, application review, eligibility determinations,
coupon mailings, coupon redemption tracking, retailer coordination,
comprehensive reporting, and program stewardship.