By Ron Thaniel
September 29, 2008

With the Digital Television (DTV) transition less than five months away, February 17, 2009, and with mounting concerns that the federal government might have underestimated the amount of consumer education required, the Senate Committee of Commerce, Science, and Transportation held its latest hearing on the transition. Wilmington (NC) Mayor Bill Saffo shared his experience, as Wilmington was the first city in the country to switch from analog to digital format on September 8.

Saffo said the collaborative efforts with broadcasters, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), retailers, and government officials helped to get the information out to the public early. “Conducting soft test within our market – one was a one-minute test and the other was a five-minutes – alerted viewers if they were not equipped to view digital programming,” said Saffo.

Dealing with at-risk populations, Saffo urged federal and local leaders to pay particular attention to the elderly as many still depend on over-the-air broadcast.

Highlighting a concern raised by the U.S. Conference of Mayors regarding too little funding for public outreach and education, Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (HI), said “For the past 18 months, members of this Committee, Democrats and Republicans, have been consistent in expressing their concern that the transition to digital television has not received enough attention or resources to ensure its success.”

Other witnesses joining Saffo were: Kevin Martin, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission; Meredith Attwell Baker, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Communications and Information, National Telecommunications Information Administration; Mark Goldstein, Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office; and Josefina Carbonell, Assistant Secretary for Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging. Their testimony, including Saffo’s, is available at http://commerce.senate.gov.