DTV Delay Act
PL 111-4 (S.352), enacted 02/11/2009

123 STAT. 112 
PUBLIC LAW 111–4—FEB. 11, 2009 
Public Law 111–4 
111th Congress 
An Act 
To postpone the DTV transition date. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DTV Delay Act’’. 
SEC. 2. POSTPONEMENT OF DTV TRANSITION DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3002(b) of the Digital Television 
Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 (47 U.S.C. 309 note) 
is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘February 18, 2009;’’ in paragraph (1) and 
inserting ‘‘June 13, 2009;’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘February 18, 2009,’’ in paragraph (2) and 
inserting ‘‘that date’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 3008(a)(1) of that Act (47 U.S.C. 309 note) 
is amended by striking ‘‘February 17, 2009.’’ and inserting 
‘‘June 12, 2009.’’. 
(2) Section 309(j)(14)(A) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 309(j)(14)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘February 17, 
2009.’’ and inserting ‘‘June 12, 2009.’’. 
(3) Section 337(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 337(e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘February 17, 
2009.’’ and inserting ‘‘June 12, 2009.’’. 
(c) LICENSE TERMS.— 
(1) EXTENSION.—The Federal Communications Commission 
shall extend the terms of the licenses for the recovered spec-
trum, including the license period and construction require-
ments associated with those licenses, for a 116-day period. 
(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘recovered 
spectrum’’ means— 
(A) the recovered analog spectrum, as such term is 
defined in section 309(j)(15)(C)(vi) of the Communications 
Act of 1934; and 
(B) the spectrum excluded from the definition of recov-
ered analog spectrum by subclauses (I) and (II) of such 
section. 
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER BOX PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) EXTENSION OF COUPON PROGRAM.—Section 3005(c)(1)(A) of 
the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 
47 USC 609 note. 
DTV Delay Act. 
Feb. 11, 2009 
[S. 352] 
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123 STAT. 113 
PUBLIC LAW 111–4—FEB. 11, 2009 
(47 U.S.C. 309 note) is amended by striking ‘‘March 31, 2009,’’ 
and inserting ‘‘July 31, 2009,’’. 
(b) TREATMENT OF EXPIRED COUPONS.—Section 3005(c)(1) of 
the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 
(47 U.S.C. 309 note) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) EXPIRED COUPONS.—The Assistant Secretary may 
issue to a household, upon request by the household, one 
replacement coupon for each coupon that was issued to 
such household and that expired without being redeemed.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3005(c)(1)(A) of the Dig-
ital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 (47 U.S.C. 
309 note) is amended by striking ‘‘receives, via the United States 
Postal Service,’’ and inserting ‘‘redeems’’. 
(d) CONDITION OF MODIFICATIONS.—The amendments made by 
this section shall not take effect until the enactment of additional 
budget authority after the date of enactment of this Act to carry 
out the analog-to-digital converter box program under section 3005 
of the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005. 
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION. 
(a) PERMISSIVE EARLY TERMINATION UNDER EXISTING REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Nothing in this Act is intended to prevent a licensee of 
a television broadcast station from terminating the broadcasting 
of such station’s analog television signal (and continuing to broad-
cast exclusively in the digital television service) prior to the date 
established by law under section 3002(b) of the Digital Television 
Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 for termination of all 
licenses for full-power television stations in the analog television 
service (as amended by section 2 of this Act) so long as such 
prior termination is conducted in accordance with the Federal 
Communications Commission’s requirements in effect on the date 
of enactment of this Act, including the flexible procedures estab-
lished in the Matter of Third Periodic Review of the Commission’s 
Rules and Policies Affecting the Conversion to Digital Television 
(FCC 07–228, MB Docket No. 07–91, released December 31, 2007). 
(b) PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SERVICES.—Nothing in this Act, or 
the amendments made by this Act, shall prevent a public safety 
service licensee from commencing operations consistent with the 
terms of its license on spectrum recovered as a result of the vol-
untary cessation of broadcasting in the analog or digital television 
service pursuant to subsection (a). Any such public safety use 
shall be subject to the relevant Federal Communications Commis-
sion rules and regulations in effect on the date of enactment of 
this Act, including section 90.545 of the Commission’s rules (47 
C.F.R. § 90.545). 
(c) EXPEDITED RULEMAKING.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Federal Communications Commission and the 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, each adopt or revise its rules, regulations, or orders or take 
such other actions as may be necessary or appropriate to implement 
the provisions, and carry out the purposes, of this Act and the 
amendments made by this Act. 
Deadline. 
47 USC 309 note. 
47 USC 309 note. 
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123 STAT. 114 
PUBLIC LAW 111–4—FEB. 11, 2009 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 352: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 155 (2009): 
Jan. 29, considered and passed Senate. 
Feb. 4, considered and passed House. 
SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF COMMISSION AUCTION AUTHORITY. 
Section 309(j)(11) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
309(j)(11)) is amended by striking ‘‘2011.’’ and inserting ‘‘2012.’’. 
Approved February 11, 2009. 
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