Digital Television Transition: Increased Federal Planning and Risk Management Could Further Facilitate the DTV Transition
Highlights
The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 requires all full-power television stations to cease analog broadcasting by February 17, 2009. Following this digital television transition, consumers who receive over-the-air television signals on analog sets will need to take action to be able to view digital broadcasts. The act also requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to create a program that subsidizes consumers' purchases of digital-to-analog converter boxes. This requested report examines progress made (1) by federal entities and others in facilitating the transition, (2) in educating consumers on the transition, and (3) in implementing the converter box subsidy program. GAO reviewed legal, agency, and industry documents; interviewed public, private, and other stakeholders; and convened an expert panel focused on consumer outreach.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Communications Commission | To help facilitate the digital television (DTV) transition through comprehensive planning and risk management, in consultation with public and private stakeholders, the Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, should develop and communicate a comprehensive plan for the various aspects of the DTV transition, encompassing technical, policy, consumer outreach, and other critical elements. The plan should include (1) detailed goals, milestones, and time frames that can be used to gauge performance and progress, identify gaps, and determine areas for improvement; (2) strategies for collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders to agree on roles and responsibilities; (3) a description of reporting requirements to track stakeholder efforts against planned goals; and (4) strategies for managing and mitigating risks to avoid potential problems and target federal resources. |
Closed – Not Implemented
FCC provided GAO a 96-page draft document in response to our recommendation. Similar to the elements we recommended FCC develop in a comprehensive plan, this draft document compiles FCC actions and other activities related to the transition and includes four main sections: technical goals, policy goals, consumer outreach goals, and other critical elements. For these sections, the document includes items such as goals, progress and performance, milestones, time frames and steps, reporting requirements, and risks and related mitigation strategies. We note, however, that significant portions of the document simply review past actions as opposed to analyzing current and future needs to meet the DTV deadline or ensure nationwide access to television. Thus, the document neither meets the requirements for a strategic plan, nor is it sufficiently transparent to guide stakeholders to meeting the DTV goals or in serving as a road map to facilitate effective collaboration between the various stakeholders to ensure the intent of the DTV transition. To fully address our recommendation, we believe more remains to be done to finalize a comprehensive plan. In response to our recommendation, the FCC Chairman said FCC does not have a formal plan in place that is publicly available, but that the various orders contained in FCC dockets amount to a plan. With the DTV transition scheduled to occur in February 2009, we believe FCC will take no further action on this recommendation.
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