Digital Television Transition

Areas of Concern

In general, seniors will constitute the greatest portion of those affected by the digital transition - particularly low income, fixed income, disabled, homebound, minority and/or rural seniors. Additionally, households left behind will lose access to free TV. This is a public safety issue, as access to essential information in the event of an emergency will be eliminated and individuals will be unable to receive national and local emergency alerts aired over television.

To date the Department of Commerce and the Federal Communications Commission have not done enough to adequately inform the nation about the upcoming transition. In fact, recent surveys indicate that over 60 percent of Americans have not heard about the DTV Transition.