I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2825

To require the Federal Communications Commission to take actions necessary 

to ensure expeditious access by consumers to terrestrial digital television 

services. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 23, 2003

Mr. TERRY (for himself, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. 

ENGEL, Mr. OTTER, Mr. WYNN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BASS, Mr. 

WHITFIELD, Mr. GREEN of Texas, and Mrs. CUBIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL

To require the Federal Communications Commission to take 

actions necessary to ensure expeditious access by consumers to terrestrial digital television services.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Access to 

5 Digital Television Enhancement Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 
2

•HR 2825 IH 

1 (1) Multiple obstacles exist that prohibit or 

2 limit consumers’ access to broadcast digital tele3 vision services. 

4 (2) Rapid elimination of several of these obsta5 cles is readily achievable and would expand con6 sumer access to digital television services, thus accel7 erating the transition to DTV, consistent with sec8 tion 309(j)(14) of the Communications Act of 1934. 

9 (3) Swift adoption of ‘‘plug and play’’ regula10 tions, enabling the manufacture and sale to the pub11 lic of digital cable-ready televisions, is critical to en12 suring access to DTV services by the 70 percent of 

13 television households that subscribe to cable. 

14 (4) The ability of televisions marketed or la15 beled as ‘‘digital cable-ready’’ to also include off-air 

16 digital reception capability further expands con17 sumer access to digital television services. 

18 (5) While the DTV transition is burdensome for 

19 broadcasters, the adoption of minimum power levels 

20 for transmission of digital television signals is impor21 tant to expand consumer access to digital television 

22 services. 

23 (6) In an effort to further the DTV transition, 

24 requiring off-the-air digital television broadcast tun-
3

•HR 2825 IH 

1 ers in digital cable-ready DTV sets will expand con2 sumer access to digital television services. 

3 SEC. 3. ACCESS TO DTV SERVICES BY CONSUMERS. 

4 (a) ADOPTION OF CABLE COMPATIBILITY REQUIRE5 MENTS.—Within 30 days after the date of enactment of 

6 this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall, 

7 by regulation, adopt and implement the regulations pro8 posed in the memorandum of understanding between the 

9 cable and consumer electronics industries filed with the 

10 Commission on December 19, 2002, as contained in the 

11 Commission’s notice of proposed rulemaking concerning 

12 compatibility between cable systems and consumer elec13 tronics equipment (FCC 03–3; adopted January 7, 2003). 

14 (b) OFF-AIR DIGITAL TELEVISION RECEPTION CA15 PABILITY IN DIGITAL CABLE-READY TELEVISIONS.—Reg16 ulations adopted by the Commission under subsection (a) 

17 also shall require that all television receivers marketed or 

18 labeled as ‘‘digital cable-ready’’ include the capability to 

19 receive off-the-air digital television broadcast signals 

20 transmitted in conformance with part 73 of the Commis21 sion’s rules. 

22 SEC. 4. MINIMUM REQUIRED POWER LEVELS FOR OFF-THE23 AIR DIGITAL TELEVISION SIGNALS. 

24 Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall revise 
4

•HR 2825 IH 

1 its regulations to establish minimum power levels and 

2 deadlines for achieving such power levels for any television 

3 broadcasting facility transmitting a digital broadcast sig4 nal. Such regulations, at a minimum, shall require broad5 casters to transmit a digital signal at sufficient power to 

6 ensure that its digital broadcast service matches the Grade 

7 A service contour of its NTSC broadcast signal by no later 

8 than July 1, 2004. Nothing in this Act shall limit the 

9 Commission’s authority to prescribe higher power levels 

10 consistent with the objective of concluding the transition 

11 to digital television by December 31, 2006.

Æ