After all the mailed notices and public service announcements, it appears the national move to digital television may be delayed.
Originally, the switch was scheduled to take place on February 17th with analog customers given the choice of upgrading their television or purchasing a convertor box, the New York Times reports. For many seniors who chose the box, a government coupon would be given out to lessen the cost.
However, the coupon program ran out of money, placing many households on the waiting list, according to the article.
Without a delay, potentially millions of television sets around the country would go dark.
"It would be great if everyone had received their coupons, and if everybody understood the transition to digital, but they don’t," Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California, said last week during the U.S. House of Representatives debate.
Both the Senate and the House have passed bills to extend the switch to digital television to June 12th, giving U.S. households an extra four months to prepare for the transition. President Barack Obama has indicated he will sign the bill.
It has been reported there is money in Obama’s economic stimulus plan that will finance the convertor box coupon program.
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