Of the $650 million in the economic stimulus package for the DTV ...
Of the $650 million in the economic stimulus package for the DTV coupon program, $490 million will pay for the actual coupons, new NTIA data show. That’s enough “recovery funding” for 12.25 million additional coupons, making about 46 million…
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!
total with the original 33.5 million that the DTV Transition and Public Safety Act provided for. The new money raises the total for coupons to $1.83 billion from $1.34 billion. At the 55.4 percent redemption rate through Tuesday, 25.5 million coupons of the 46 million would be used. The 22 cents per envelope that the NTIA will pay IBM to mail 4.6 million envelopes under a Feb. 27 contract amendment (CD March 10 p4) is the cost to upgrade each mailing from “standard” rate to first class, including the postage and the envelope, an agency spokesman said. It started using the upgrades last week to begin clearing the backlog of coupons on the waiting list, he said.