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**Guest Commentary from Dennis Streets, Director, North Carolina**

**Division of Aging and Adult Services (Wilmington, NC was selected as a
pilot**

**site to make an early transition to DTV on September 8, 2008.)**

**UPDATE ON NORTH CAROLINA'S DTV TRANSITION**

The NC Division of Aging and Adult Services has continued to work
closely with the federal agencies involved in the transition

as well as its area agencies on aging, local senior centers and aging
and adult services network. Throughout the state its area

agencies on aging and senior centers have used the available publicity
materials and speaker\'s bureaus and have held

presentations. Many received positive media attention. The Division
continues to post information about the transition and

coupon program on its web site and ran an in-depth article on this
subject in its June 2008 agency e-newsletter

[[http://www.ncdhhs.gov/aging/pub/At_A_Glance_summer08.pdf]{.underline}](http://www.ncdhhs.gov/aging/pub/At_A_Glance_summer08.pdf)

The City of Wilmington became the first television market in the nation
to switch to all digital TV on September 8, 2008. 

The city is serving as a test market to work out any problems before the
rest of the nation goes digital in February 2009.

Wilmington has found that education tailored to older persons, their
families, and the aging/health/human service agencies

working with these populations proved to be very valuable because it
could be woven into conversations by the professionals,

i.e. when home-delivered meal assessments/reassessments were being
conducted, etc. The city also found that providing

information to individuals on their Disaster Special Needs Registry,
both in printed form and through phone calls was very

beneficial. 

Education to persons residing in skilled nursing facilities and assisted
living facilities posed special challenges.  A consumer

education emphasis to administration, families, and Long Term Care
Ombudsmen was found to be crucial as there are frail

persons who will need to get coupons and pay for, obtain and install the
converter box. Families and/or facility administration/

building maintenance will be especially instrumental in this process. 
However, none of this would have occurred locally

without the community partnerships of aging and disabled network
agencies, faith communities, local government,

media outlets and interested citizens working together.

For the older persons who utilize over the air transmission for TV
reception, there were economic challenges to affording the

co-pay for the converter box, transportation to get to a "big box" store
to purchase the converter box or a new antenna, and

installation if necessary.  In many cases trained volunteers could
certainly assist, but must be a trusted entity and it is not

reasonable to believe that overworked Meals on Wheels volunteers, in
home aide staff, or others providing supportive

services are able to also add another task.

 

The City of Wilmington found that in order to provide consumer
education, assistance with converter box procurement

and installation, and to troubleshoot problems after the transition,
designated, trusted agencies must have sufficient funding to

offer these services to their senior and general population.  The Area
Agency on Aging for the Wilmington area and its aging

network providers did not have the benefit of a funding stream pre/post
DTV transition and had to rely upon already

overworked staff.

Partnering and collaboration were needed to make positive impacts in the
community and have a successful transition. 

The media was an important link in all this, as there was an
unbelievable volume of information broadcasted on a daily

basis, on television station websites, newspaper articles, inserts in
church bulletins, etc.  These methods were successfully

utilized by older citizens to learn about the transition.

**Guest Commentary from Noemi Pendleton, Director, Hawaii Executive
Office on Aging.**

**(Hawaii's full power stations will be making the transition on January
15, 2009 due to**

**environmental issues) Read here how Hawaii is helping prepare older
Hawaiians for this**

**major change one month ahead of the rest of the United States. With
the exception of**

**residents on Kauai, households that receive TV signals over the air
will need to connect**

**a converter box to sets in order to continue watching TV. Kauai
receives over-the-air**

**television signals via low-power translators that are not affected by
the DTV transition*.***

The Hawaii Association of Broadcasting (HAB) and Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) are the lead agencies handling

the transition. The FCC has a new website for Hawaii residents at
[[www.dtv.gov/hawaii]{.underline}](../www.dtv.gov/hawaii) and another
website linked from HAB

is
[[www.hawaiigoesdigital.com]{.underline}](../www.hawaiigoesdigital.com).
Hawaii\'s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) is also
plugged into the

awareness efforts of the transition, and they handle constituent
inquiries.

To ensure that all older Hawaiians and their families are aware of the
transition, the Executive Office on Aging (EOA) is

distributing to the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) flyers received from
the US Dept of Commerce regarding the TV

Converter Box Coupon Program. EOA and AAAs will include information in
upcoming newsletters, emails, and

meetings/events/fairs about the transition. On Dec. 9, 2008, Lt.
Governor James "Duke" Aiona will hold a news conference with

FCC Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein to raise awareness about the Jan.
15 transition. The FCC is coordinating workshops

throughout the state, and HAB is coordinating public service
announcements on all of the transitioning television stations.

FCC outreach events will also be held in Maui on December 10 and in Hilo
on December 11.

**News You Can Use on DTV (Excerpts from recent NTIA and FCC Press
Announcements*)***

Commerce's NTIA Awards \$2.7 Million to National Association of Area
Agencies on Aging to

Help Seniors Transition to Digital TV

*November 18, 2008* WASHINGTON---The Commerce Department's National
Telecommunications and Information

Administration (NTIA) announced an award of \$2.7 million to the
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging

(n4a) to help seniors transition to digital television through the TV
Converter Box Coupon Program. The association will

assist seniors with completing a coupon application, obtaining a
converter box and connecting the device to a television in

the home now to the end of April.  N4a is partnering with the Keeping
Seniors Connected (KSC) Coalition, 11

national aging organizations which joined together in early 2008 to
target issues of concern to older Americans related

to the DTV transition.

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**Press Release: Gutierrez Announces Nursing Homes Residents and P.O.
Box**

**Households Eligible to Receive Converter Box Coupons**

*\
*

September 16, 2008 WASHINGTON

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez announced that residents
of licensed nursing homes, intermediate care

facilities, assisted living facilities and households that use a post
office box for mail delivery will be eligible to request

coupons from the TV Converter Box Coupon Program. The rule change takes
effect 30 days after publication in the

Federal Register. Applicants living in licensed nursing homes,
intermediate care facilities and assisted living facilities will

be required to provide their name, address of the facility and whether
they receive television exclusively with an antenna,

or through cable, satellite or other pay television service. A family
member or a representative from the licensed facility

may apply for one coupon for a nursing home resident, but the coupon
will be mailed directly to the nursing home

resident. A special application will be made available for nursing home
residents to fill out once the rule becomes

effective.

Also, applicants who utilize a post office box for mail delivery will be
able to request two coupons through

the normal application process. Applicants will be required to provide
their physical residence in addition to their

post office box number.

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**Commerce's NTIA Releases TV Converter Box Coupon Program Request Rate
by TV Market**

**with 70 Days Until Digital TV Transition Concludes**

November 10, 2008 WASHINGTON

The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) today announced

Updated participation rates by television market and that 62 percent of
all over-the-air households, those that rely on

an antenna for broadcast TV, have requested coupons from the TV
Converter Box Coupon Program.  The program helps

households switch to digital television when full-power TV broadcasters
transition from analog to 100 percent digital

broadcasts on February 17, 2009 70 days from today.

"The Coupon Program is successful and very popular with 17 million
households requesting more than 33.5 million

coupons and redeeming 13.5 million of them, to date," said Acting NTIA
Administrator Meredith Baker.  "I am very

pleased with the large number of over-the-air households we have
served.  Combined with households choosing to

purchase a TV set or subscribing to cable, satellite or other pay TV
service, households are making a timely transition

to digital television. However, we also realize that many people still
need coupons.  With only 70 days until the digital

transition concludes, NTIA urges consumers who need a coupon to apply
before the end of the year, purchase a

converter when the coupons arrive in the mail and install it immediately
to enjoy the benefits of digital television."

Of the 210 television markets, 172 have over 50% participation among
over-the-air households; 45 markets have a

75 percent or greater participation rate.  Forty-five markets have a 75
percent or greater participation rate for

"over-the-air" TV households. The markets with the highest coupon
application rates include, Wilmington, NC;

Salisbury, MD; Myrtle Beach-Florence, SC; Quincy (IL)-Hannibal
(MO)-Keokuk (IA); and Charleston-Huntington, WV. 

The markets with the lowest coupon application rates are: Juneau, AK;
Glendive, MT; Honolulu, HI; Eureka, CA;

and Anchorage, AK.

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***Press Release*: Consumers Urged to Apply for Converter Box Coupons By
Year-End**

*September 30, 2008* WASHINGTON

The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA), announced today that

"over-the-air" television viewers who want to participate in the TV
Converter Box Coupon Program should apply for coupons

before the end of the year to minimize the chances of losing TV
reception when full-power broadcasters switch to digital.

  Full-power TV broadcasters switch from analog to 100 percent digital
broadcasts on February 17, 2009. For consumers

receiving free, over-the-air broadcasts on analog televisions, use the
following three steps to make the transition to digital television:

**Step 1: Apply.**\
Apply for a coupon now.  Coupons are available on a first-come,
first-serve basis.  Consumers can apply for coupons online at

[www.DTV2009.gov](http://www.DTV2009.gov/), by phone at 1-888-DTV-2009
(1-888-388-2009), by fax at 1-877-DTV-4ME2 (1-877-388-4632)

or by mail to PO Box 2000, Portland, OR 97208.  Deaf or hard of hearing
callers may dial 1-877-530-2634 (English TTY)

or 1-866-495-1161 (Spanish TTY).  

**Step 2: Buy.**\
Consumers should buy their converter boxes soon after their coupons
arrive in the mail. Consumers will receive a list of

participating local, phone and online retailers with their coupons.  TV
viewers are urged to make their choice before the

end of the year.

**Step 3: Try.** 

Once a consumer has purchased a converter box, they should connect the
box to their analog TV immediately and follow the

installation, and channel scanning instructions, and antenna
adjustments, if needed.  This provides the opportunity to test the

converter box and troubleshoot potential problems prior to the
transition date. Most importantly, consumers can start enjoying

the benefits of a clearer picture and more programming choices now, so
don't wait to install your converter box.

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**Helpful DTV Transition Websites:**

**FCC: [[http://www.dtv.gov/]{.underline}](http://www.dtv.gov/)**

**Frequently Asked Questions: 
[[http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html]{.underline}](http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html)**

**NTIA Converter Box Coupon Program
[[https://www.dtv2009.gov/]{.underline}](https://www.dtv2009.gov/)**