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 fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
A BILL 
To require the Federal Communications Commission to take 
actions necessary to ensure expeditious access by con-
sumers to terrestrial digital television services.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Access to 
Digital Television Enhancement Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Multiple obstacles exist that prohibit or 
limit consumers’ access to broadcast digital tele-
vision services. 
(2) Rapid elimination of several of these obsta-
cles is readily achievable and would expand con-
sumer access to digital television services, thus accel-
erating the transition to DTV, consistent with sec-
tion 309(j)(14) of the Communications Act of 1934. 
(3) Swift adoption of ‘‘plug and play’’ regula-
tions, enabling the manufacture and sale to the pub-
lic of digital cable-ready televisions, is critical to en-
suring access to DTV services by the 70 percent of 
television households that subscribe to cable. 
(4) The ability of televisions marketed or la-
beled as ‘‘digital cable-ready’’ to also include off-air 
digital reception capability further expands con-
sumer access to digital television services. 
(5) While the DTV transition is burdensome for 
broadcasters, the adoption of minimum power levels 
for transmission of digital television signals is impor-
tant to expand consumer access to digital television 
services. 
(6) In an effort to further the DTV transition, 
requiring off-the-air digital television broadcast tun-
ers in digital cable-ready DTV sets will expand con-
sumer access to digital television services. 
SEC. 3. ACCESS TO DTV SERVICES BY CONSUMERS. 
(a) ADOPTION OF CABLE COMPATIBILITY REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Within 30 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall, 
by regulation, adopt and implement the regulations pro-
posed in the memorandum of understanding between the 
cable and consumer electronics industries filed with the 
Commission on December 19, 2002, as contained in the 
Commission’s notice of proposed rulemaking concerning 
compatibility between cable systems and consumer elec-
tronics equipment (FCC 03–3; adopted January 7, 2003). 
(b) OFF-AIR DIGITAL TELEVISION RECEPTION CA-
PABILITY IN DIGITAL CABLE-READY TELEVISIONS.—Reg-
ulations adopted by the Commission under subsection (a) 
also shall require that all television receivers marketed or 
labeled as ‘‘digital cable-ready’’ include the capability to 
receive off-the-air digital television broadcast signals 
transmitted in conformance with part 73 of the Commis-
sion’s rules. 
SEC. 4. MINIMUM REQUIRED POWER LEVELS FOR OFF-THE-
AIR DIGITAL TELEVISION SIGNALS. 
Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall revise
its regulations to establish minimum power levels and 
deadlines for achieving such power levels for any television 
broadcasting facility transmitting a digital broadcast sig-
nal. Such regulations, at a minimum, shall require broad-
casters to transmit a digital signal at sufficient power to 
ensure that its digital broadcast service matches the Grade 
A service contour of its NTSC broadcast signal by no later 
than July 1, 2004. Nothing in this Act shall limit the 
Commission’s authority to prescribe higher power levels 
consistent with the objective of concluding the transition 
to digital television by December 31, 2006.
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