**REMARKS OF ACTING CHAIRMAN MICHAEL J. COPPS**

**EN BANC HEARING ON DIGITAL TELEVISION**

**FEBRUARY 5, 2009**

** **

Good Afternoon and welcome to this special en banc hearing on the
Digital Television Transition, which also serves as our February FCC
meeting.

First, a word of thanks to the many people, both inside the Commission
and outside, who have eased my own personal transition to Acting
Chairman. I realize more than ever the high caliber of public servants
who work at the FCC and their enthusiasm in helping me get launched on
this exciting but time-limited experience is deeply appreciated. My two
colleagues and friends, Commissioners Adelstein and McDowell, have gone
far out of their way to help and to expedite our work and I'm grateful
to both of them. And my thanks to the many individuals and organizations
outside the FCC who have not only shared their good wishes, but offered
their help and cooperation.

It's a pleasure to welcome you all here to discuss our Nation's
transition to digital television. The good news is that Congress has now
given us some extra time to help consumers prepare for this important
switch-over. I welcome this delay because it has long been clear to
me---and it has become even more clear in the less than two weeks that I
have been Acting Chair---that we were not ready for a nationwide
transition on February 17. Now some say that we won't be ready on June
12, either, and that there will still be some consumers left behind.
It's true this transition will not be seamless. But it will dislocate a
lot fewer people in June than it would have in 12 days and 10 hours.
With the additional time, with adequate additional resources for this
and other affected agencies to do their jobs, and with a committed and
coordinated public-private partnership---the kind of effort we're
starting to put into place and you'll hear about today---I believe we
can make a real difference. We can improve consumer outreach and
support---especially for our most vulnerable citizens. We can have a
more effective and integrated call center program. We can get a better
grip on coverage and reception issues that so many consumers are
struggling with---serious problems that were for too long minimized or
wished away. And we can certainly improve the converter box coupon
program, which at last count had over two million U.S. households on a
waiting list.

It's too early to present a grand new plan for the next four months. The
ink on the legislation is not even dry. But I thought it was important
to hold this meeting---to take stock of where we are; to describe what
has been happening here at the Commission over the past couple of weeks;
to discuss the public and private resources that will need to be brought
to bear; and to wrestle with some of the tough issues we face in
creating a new and more effective game plan. While we don't have all the
answers, we can work through what we know, ask the tough questions and
realize that even though it's a work in progress, it's important to be
as open and transparent as possible.

I think we have brought better focus and more coordination to some of
the challenges we face in the past couple of weeks, although we are not
yet anywhere close to where we need to be. Hopefully---with the right
coordination and adequate resources---we can get there soon. We will
have more meetings like this, but we also need action meetings to bring
all interested parties together even more frequently. Those dialogues
need to be regular, inclusive, coordinated, and directed. I believe we
are on the road to making that happen.

One of the first things we need to get our arms around is what is going
to happen on February 17. Congress passed the DTV Delay Act primarily to
give consumers additional time to prepare for the end of analog service.
We must keep this consumer focus front and center as we proceed. At the
same time, Congress directed the FCC to give stations flexibility about
turning off their analog signals in advance of June 12. Broadcasters
have been planning for the end of analog service on February 17, and
some would face real hardship if they had to reverse course. The law
passed yesterday states very explicitly that nothing in the Act is
intended to prevent a licensee from moving early to digital so long as
all early switch-overs are conducted in accordance with current FCC
requirements.

Clearly, then, we have a balance to strike. On the one hand, the
fundamental premise of the new law is that many consumers are not ready,
that coupons are unavailable to them, and that they haven't been
adequately informed about how to prepare, why they are having difficulty
getting reception, and where they can turn for help. On the other hand,
we must proceed cognizant of the requirement to retain sufficient
flexibility to recognize the unique circumstances of individual stations
in markets across the country.

Today we have released a Public Notice to provide a framework for
striking this balance. You will hear more about it on Panel Three this
afternoon, but generally it requires stations that wish to turn off
their analog signals on February 17 to notify the FCC by next
Monday---February 9---of their intent to do so. We reserve the right to
deny those requests if we find that it would not serve the public
interest or if it would frustrate Congress' goal of giving consumers
adequate time to prepare. For instance, if all or most stations in a
market are planning to terminate analog service on February 17, that
will merit our close scrutiny, and we may require the stations to file
additional information to demonstrate whether they really have a
compelling case. After February 17, we revert to the standards set forth
in our rules for the termination of analog signals.

I am happy to report that some broadcasters have already stepped up to
the plate and expressed their commitments to staying on the air until
June 12. These broadcasters are truly serving the public interest by
giving real-world meaning to what Congress did yesterday. I agree
wholeheartedly with what Senator Rockefeller said yesterday: "put
consumers first." Thus far, the following broadcasters have committed to
continuing to transmit in analog and digital on their owned-and-operated
stations through June 12: CBS, Fox, NBC and Telemundo and ABC. In
addition, Gannett and Hearst-Argyle have said that the "vast majority"
of their stations will maintain an analog signal until June 12. These
broadcasters deserve our gratitude. I encourage other broadcasters to
join them. Never have we asked consumers to jump through so many hoops
in order to pick up a broadcast signal or, perhaps, to receive any
consumer product or service. In a situation where many are unable
adequately to prepare themselves---and also wherein many who ***have***
prepared themselves may still lose signals---we have the most solemn
obligation to inform and assist them.

There are many other changes that need to be made in coming days---PSAs,
websites, literature, the list goes on and on. And it includes some
Commission rules, too. Some of these rules concern consumer education
requirements. We need to clarify how the old rules work with the new
date. To take one example, right now most stations are required to run a
"countdown clock" to remind consumers how many days are left until the
transition. Now that the date has been changed, the countdown clock
could be misleading. I have discussed this matter with my colleagues and
our view right now is that only stations planning to transition on
February 17 should be running a countdown clock to February 17. All
other stations should not carry a countdown clock until they are within
100 days of their transition dates. While we can't officially change the
rule yet, we would not expect the Commission to take action against any
station that follows this course.

So there is much to do. That's why no one should use the delay as an
excuse to take a break but, rather, as an opportunity to redouble our
efforts and work even more closely together. Everyone is this room needs
to be part of the solution. Working together, we can make a huge
difference for consumers. Everyone here, and the organizations they
represent, worked hard and expended lots of energy and resources over
the past many months. But you were also deprived---and it wasn't your
fault---of the kind of government help and leadership that are required
to mobilize the resources needed to surmount a challenge of this
magnitude. I want to thank you again for all the work you've done. I
want to pay special respects and offer my deepest thanks to my FCC
colleagues who are working---many have volunteered---to develop a
transition that works. They are at work all around this place---and in
many other places around the country. I've been with them in many cities
and towns across America over the past year, and so have Commissioners
Adelstein and McDowell. They have made the situation so much better than
it otherwise would have been, and now that we can give them some
additional time---and hopefully more adequate resources---they are going
to help consumers and citizens throughout the country cross over the
bridge to DTV.

Before I close, let's put all these problems and hurdles aside for just
30 seconds and understand that once we have surmounted the obstacles, we
will have brought not just broadcasters, but all Americans, closer to
full participation in the Digital Age. Better and more varied
television---sure. But also spectrum freed up so we can build---at long
last---a public safety network worthy of its name. Spectrum freed up for
more and better wireless service---and for broadband so that we can put
America at the head of the list of nations---so far ahead that nobody
would even debate it---in getting broadband out to all our citizens. In
the end, that will make all our current headaches and heartaches worth
it.