Senate DTV Bill to Become Public Oct. 19
Senate DTV legislation will be released to the public Oct. 19 when it’s sent to the Senate Budget Committee as part of the budget reconciliation process, Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) told reporters Thurs. Most committee staff said they haven’t seen a draft of the bill, though Stevens said last week that he would begin circulating a draft to members. “We're not releasing the text because it’s part of the budget process and we're not supposed to deliver until the 19th. So you'll see it on the 19th,” Stevens told reporters.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
The bill will be in 2 parts: One will deal with issues related to budget reconciliation, and another to cover nonbudget issues that Senate rules won’t allow in the first, Stevens said. He wouldn’t say what would be in either bill, but Senate sources said the budget-related bill would likely include renewal of the FCC’s auction authority and setting a hard transition date for DTV. The 2nd bill would deal with issues such as multicast must- carry, down-conversion of digital signals and possibly paying for converter boxes for consumers owning analog TVs that will become obsolete after the digital transition, Senate sources said.
FCC Chmn. Martin said DTV legislation is an important issue for emergency first responders, who need “sufficient spectrum” to communicate with each other during disasters. Speaking at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Thurs. on emergency communications, Martin said: “It’s important for the govt. to figure out a way to get to the end of the digital transition.” He also said first responders need an interoperable, mobile wireless communications system that can be rapidly deployed anywhere in the country. The system must be interoperable and be capable of operating on multiple frequencies in multiple formats, he said. A system with sufficient spectrum could ensure that data and voice are transmitted between agencies instantly, replacing multiple, lengthy phone calls to different agencies, he said: “If we learned anything from Hurricane Katrina, if is that we cannot rely solely on terrestrial communications.”
Chastising Congress for sloth in solving communications problems in disasters, Sen. McCain (R- Ariz.) said lawmakers “must provide first responders with the spectrum they need.” He said almost a month has passed since Hurricane Katrina, and Congress has yet to act on legislation to assist first responders. McCain plugged a bill he introduced in June (CD June 15 p1) that would let public safety entities begin using 24 MHz of the spectrum Jan. 1, 2009 and require the FCC to auction recovered spectrum between Dec. 16, 2006 and April 2, 2008. But that bill hasn’t had a hearing or markup. Congress took its biggest step toward helping first responders Thurs., marking up a bill that would give local and state govts. $400 million in FY 2006 for emergency communications equipment in the Dept. of Homeland Security Govt. Affairs Subcommittee (see related story).