All full-power television broadcasters are required by law to cease broadcasting their analog signal by February 17, 2009. There are numerous benefits to transitioning to digital-only broadcast signals, such as enabling better quality television picture and sound reception and using the radiofrequency spectrum more efficiently than analog transmission. With traditional analog technology, pictures and sounds are converted into “waveform” electrical signals for transmission through the radiofrequency spectrum, while digital technology converts these pictures and sounds into a stream of digits consisting of zeros and ones for transmission. A digital receiver can make the digital picture and sound near perfect until significant fading occurs, at which point no picture can be seen. To facilitate the digital transition, Congress and FCC temporarily provided each eligible full-power television station (both commercial and noncommercial educational stations, including public stations) with additional spectrum so they could begin broadcasting a digital signal. This companion, or paired, digital channel simulcasts the analog program content in digital format. Assignment of the paired digital channel began in 1997 and FCC completed the digital channel assignment for most stations in August 2007. A station’s final digital channel could be (1) the same channel as its paired digital channel, (2) the same channel that its analog signal uses to broadcast, or (3) an entirely new channel. The DTV transition involves preparation on the part of American households. This preparation will require citizens’ understanding of the transition and the actions that some might have to take to maintain television service. The specific equipment needs for each household to transition to DTV—that is, to be able to view broadcast digital signals— depends on certain key factors. The method through which a household watches television, and whether it has already upgraded its television equipment to be compatible with digital television, will factor into the equipment needs of the household. While many households may need to take specific actions to ensure that they continue to receive television signals, others may not need to take any action. As we have previously reported, households with analog televisions that rely solely on over-the- air television signals received through a rooftop antenna or indoor antenna must take action to be able to view digital broadcast signals after the termination of analog broadcasting. Options available to these households include (1) purchasing a digital television set that includes a tuner capable of receiving, processing, and displaying a digital signal; (2) purchasing a digital-to-analog converter box, which converts the digital broadcast signals to analog so they can be viewed on an existing analog set; or (3) subscribing to a cable, satellite, or other service that provides the necessary signal to eliminate the need to acquire a digital-to-analog converter box. The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act directed NTIA to establish a $1.5 billion subsidy program through which households can obtain coupons for the purchase of digital-to-analog converter boxes. NTIA established that beginning January 1, 2008, households could request up to two $40 coupons toward the purchase of eligible digital-to-analog converter boxes. Households requesting coupons must submit the name of the person requesting the coupon and a valid United States Postal Service address. Initially, any household is eligible to request and receive the coupons, but once $890 million worth of coupons have been redeemed, and issued but not expired, NTIA must certify to Congress that the program’s initial allocation of funds is insufficient to fulfill coupon requests. NTIA will then receive $510 million in additional program funds, but any households requesting coupons during this second phase must certify that they do not receive cable, satellite, or other pay television service. Total possible program funding, which includes coupons redeemed, and issued but not expired, is $1.5 billion. The last day for consumers to request coupons is March 31, 2009, and coupons can be redeemed through July 9, 2009. As required by law, all coupons expire 90 days after issuance. The fully funded program could provide 33.5 million coupons. While all full-power broadcast stations must cease analog broadcasts, low- power stations may continue broadcasting in analog after February 17, 2009. FCC established low-power television service in 1982 to provide opportunities for locally-oriented television service in small communities. These communities may be in rural areas or may be individual communities within larger urban areas. Low-power stations provide programming from networks, syndicated programs, movies, and a wide range of locally-produced programs. According to FCC, there are more than 2,100 low-power stations in operation, some of which broadcast syndicated content of major commercial networks and public television and numerous other stations reaching a broad swath of the television viewing public. Low-power broadcast stations are not required to cease broadcasting in analog as of February 2009 and most will continue to broadcast in analog after the conclusion of the full-power transition. Because there is no mandated transition date for the low-power stations, it is unclear when these stations will transition to digital broadcasts. Most broadcasters have made significant progress in preparing their stations for the transition to digital, with approximately 91 percent of broadcasters responding to our survey reporting that they were already transmitting a digital signal. A small number of stations responding to our survey (9 percent) had yet to begin broadcasting a digital signal, but almost all of those stations expected to be broadcasting digitally by February 17, 2009. Before the transition to digital can be finalized, some stations still have to resolve (1) technical issues, such as the relocation of their digital or analog antenna; (2) coordination issues, such as the U.S. government reaching agreements with the Canadian and Mexican governments and coordinating with cable providers and satellite companies; or (3) other issues, such as the construction of broadcast towers or financial constraints that might hinder their ability to complete the steps necessary for the transition. Broadcast stations have made substantial progress in transitioning to DTV, with the vast majority already transmitting a digital signal. Information obtained from our survey of broadcast stations indicates that approximately 91 percent of full-power stations are currently transmitting a digital signal. Our survey further indicated that approximately 68 percent of respondents are transmitting their digital signal at full strength. In addition, 68 percent of survey respondents are currently transmitting their digital signal on the channel from which they will broadcast after the transition date. Twenty-three percent of stations that responded to our survey indicated they will be moving their digital signal to their analog channel. In addition, other stations need to move to a completely new channel. While almost all full-power stations are already broadcasting a digital signal, 97 stations, or 9 percent of stations responding to our survey, are not currently broadcasting digitally. Almost all of these stations, however, indicated that they plan to have their digital signal operational by February 17, 2009. Three stations responded that they were not planning to broadcast a digital signal by February 2009. According to FCC, stations that are not currently transmitting a digital signal either (1) were granted a license to operate a digital signal along with their analog signal but have yet to begin broadcasting digitally or (2) were not given a companion, or paired, digital channel and plan to turn off their analog signal at the same time that they turn on their digital signal—known as “flash cutting.” According to our survey, 5 percent of the stations (61 stations) indicated that they plan to flash cut to a digital-only broadcast. According to FCC, flash cutting may present challenges, since it will involve stations’ ending their analog television operations and beginning their digital television operations on their current analog channel or, in some cases, will require that a station change to a new channel to be fully operational. Of those stations responding to our survey that plan to flash cut, only 21 percent had begun constructing final digital facilities at the time of our survey. Furthermore, 64 percent of the flash cutters responding to our survey noted that they need to order equipment to complete their digital facilities. Some stations, including those already broadcasting a digital signal, still have technical, coordination, or other issues that need to be resolved before completing their transition. For example, over 13 percent of stations responding to our survey indicated that they have to install or relocate their digital or analog antennas in transitioning to digital. Some stations still needed to order equipment, such as antennas, to build their final digital facilities. According to an antenna manufacturer we contacted, it can take from 6 weeks to 9 months to design, order, and install an antenna, depending on the antenna’s complexity. This manufacturer told us that stations need to have their orders placed by June 2008 to be assured of having the equipment installed prior to the transition date. Furthermore, stations may have coordination issues to address in completing their final digital facilities. For example, some stations are awaiting agreements with the Canadian and Mexican governments regarding their signals crossing the borders of these respective countries before the stations can complete their digital facilities. Stations will also need to coordinate with cable providers and satellite companies to ensure that cable and satellite facilities can receive digital signals when the analog signals are turned off; most of those responding to our survey indicated that they are coordinating with or are planning to coordinate with cable providers and satellite companies. Lastly, stations that have to construct broadcast towers or have financial constraints might be affected during their transition. According to our survey, 47 stations indicated that they need to construct a broadcast tower or reinforce an existing tower to build their digital facilities. Another 69 stations responding to our survey indicated that due to financial constraints, they have not started construction on their final digital facilities or that they have not begun broadcasting a digital signal. Potentially millions of viewers can receive low-power analog transmissions, including programming from the major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox), Spanish language broadcasting, and public television. According to FCC data, 296 low-power stations broadcast one of the four major networks, 109 low-power stations broadcast a Spanish language network, and 45 low-power stations are affiliated with the public broadcasting service.