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Senior Citizen Politics
Aging Committee Finds Need to Educate Senior
Citizens on Change to Digital TV
Nation changes to digital TV on Feb. 17, 2009 and
senior citizens may be in the dark
 Sept. 19, 2007 – The Senate Special Committee on
Aging today tried to shed more light on the nation’s transition to
digital television (DTV), which many fear is a change that will
disproportionately affect America’s senior citizens in a negative way,
due to their lack of preparedness.
Testimony by Mark Goldstein, Director of
Physical Infrastructure Issues, Government Accountability Office (GAO), corroborated the results of an Aging
Committee investigation that found the federal government is
“drastically unprepared to educate America’s seniors about the
transition,” set to take place February 17, 2009, according to a news
release from the committee chairman, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI).
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Testimony from Federal Communications Commissioner
John Adelstein also confirmed the lack of government preparedness,
according to the news release.
In his testimony, Adelstein spoke to his own
agency’s lack of preparation, citing the minor efforts the FCC has made
to educate seniors about the DTV transition and its implications.
Adelstein’s testimony provided a contrast to
the letter FCC Chairman Kevin Martin
sent to Chairman Kohl over the summer with regard to the DTV
transition, according to Kohl’s office.
“Unfortunately, the Commission’s DTV outreach and
education efforts to date have been lackluster at best,” said
Commissioner Adelstein.
“Specifically, there is a lack of an established
command and control structure that is responsible to coordinate the
national DTV transition effort and to vet, prioritize and implement
meritorious ideas from the public and private sectors into a
comprehensive, coherent and coordinated plan.”
In addition to highlighting the unique needs and
vulnerabilities of older Americans with respect to the transition, the
hearing focused on the weaknesses of the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box
Coupon Program, specifically the potential for confusion and fraud.
Preliminary results of a secret-shopper
investigation were presented at the hearing by U.S. Public Interest
Research Group (US PIRG), demonstrating that due to the impending
transition, up-selling and misleading sales tactics already plague
electronics retailers in the D.C. metro area.
“Seniors are particularly vulnerable to slipping
through the cracks of the transition. Not only are they more likely to
rely on free over-the-air analog TV signals, but for many seniors
television is their only link to the outside world,” said Chairman
Kohl.
“Without adequate planning and coordination,
seniors will be left in the dark.”
Chairman Kohl to Offer Legislation
Chairman Kohl will be introducing critical
legislation to establish and fund a public-private partnership between
the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Commerce’s
National Telecommunication and Information Administration, the
Administration on Aging and its allied aging network, and industry
stakeholders.
This public-private partnership would launch a
nationwide consumer education campaign in coordination with a diverse
advisory board, crafted to ensure that older individuals who depend on
analog TV are not left without service after February 17, 2009.
Additionally, the partnership would be required to
develop a road map for consumer education, with specific and achievable
benchmarks, and report to Congress on progress. The legislation will
also set requirements for the industry, which has a major financial
stake in a successful DTV transition.
Such requirements include: mandatory public
service announcements (PSAs); easily identifiable labels on
coupon-eligible converter boxes to mitigate the potential for
“up-selling” and minimize returns; and the establishment of a toll-free
phone number to provide individuals with help with determining if their
televisions will go dark and installation assistance.
Confusion Over Who is In Charge
The GAO’s Goldstein detailed the inter-agency
confusion over jurisdiction for the overall DTV transition and noted
that currently there are no mechanisms to ensure that consumer awareness
efforts will reach those affected by the transition or that the
converter box coupons will reach those who need them.
Assistant Secretary John M. Kneuer of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) was on hand to
discuss the agency’s progress in implementing the converter box coupon
program. Marcellus Alexander, Executive Vice President of Television at
the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), announced a new roll-out
of PSAs and video packages to all commercial and non-commercial stations
this week, adding that a detailed media plan will be unveiled next
week.
Representatives from AARP and the National
Association of Area Agencies on Aging (N4A) also offered testimony on
the necessary steps to ensure that no senior is left in the dark when
the transition occurs.
A study conducted by the Association of Public
Television Stations (APTS) determined that 61 percent of over-the-air
households have “no idea” the DTV transition is taking place.
A later study commissioned by APTS found that
Americans aged 65 and older are consistently more likely to receive
television signals via an over-the-air antenna than younger Americans,
and are therefore less prepared to transition from analog to
digital-only television.
The study concluded that seniors should receive
unique attention in efforts to educate the public about the impending
DTV transition.
For more information about the Committee’s work
regarding the DTV transition, please go to:
http://aging.senate.gov/issues/dtv/
Preparing For The Digital Television Transition:
Will Seniors Be Left In The Dark?
September 19, 2007
>>
Click here to view webcast.
Click on names to read testimony.
Statements of Committee Members
Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman
Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-OR), Ranking Member
Witness Testimony
Mark Goldstein, Director of Physical Infrastructure, US Government
Accountability Office, Washington, DC
Jonathan S. Adelstein, Commissioner, Federal Communications
Commission, Washington, DC
John M.R. Kneuer, Assistant Secretary, National Telecommunications
and Information Administration, US Department of Commerce, Washington,
DC
Nelda Barnett, Board Member, AARP, Owensboro, KY
Amina Fazlullah, Staff Attorney, US Public Interest Research Group,
Washington, DC
Marcellus Alexander, Executive Vice President, National Association
of Broadcasters, Washington, DC
Sandra Markwood, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of
Area Agencies on Aging, Washington, DC
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