National Telecommunications
and Information Administration |
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Policy Areas: • Broadband • Internet Content • Cable, Broadcasting & DTV • Spectrum and Wireless Policy OPAD Staff Internships Congressional Testimony Speeches Reports & Filings Archives |
Cable, Broadcasting & DTV
Every day tens of millions of Americans switch on radio and television sets for news, weather, and entertainment. Radio and television are a part of our daily routines and a staple of our culture. Today these media services are being transformed by the same digital revolution that is bringing us new media choices via the Internet. Minority Telecommunications Development Program The Minority Telecommunications Development Program (MTDP) was established in 1978 to develop programs and policies to increase minority ownership of broadcast and telecommunications businesses. MTDP provides policy input for the development of legislation and regulations that affect minority business participation in the telecommunications industry. MTDP periodically researches and drafts reports tracking minority ownership in broadcasting. NTIA released the last report in December 2000, which was titled Changes, Challenges, and Charting New Courses: Minority Commercial Broadcast Ownership in the United States. MTDP examines trends and business opportunities in telecommunications for minority entrepreneurs. Digital Television Service The Telecommunications Act of 1996 authorized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to license part of the public's electromagnetic spectrum to thousands analog television licensees for the transition to digital television services. Digital television can provide sharp images that rival the movie theater experience if used in its high definition mode. DTV can also offer CD-quality sound. It can provide new uses such as multiple video programs or other services on a single television channel, including data services, and interactive capability. NTIA has played an active role in the development of digital television and public policy. NTIA's Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) developed the signal propagation models used by the FCC to establish the digital table of allocations. It also developed new techniques to measure the quality of digital video pictures on television monitors, among other devices (press release). Hundreds of digital television stations are already in operation in markets serving almost all of U.S. television households. The Administration will continue to monitor developments and encourage its successful deployment, which will result in reclaimed radio spectrum for other important services, including public safety. Pursuant to the Digital Television and Public Safety Act of 2005, full power television stations will cease analog brodcasting and return their analog channels so those channels can be put to other uses. See Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Frequently Asked Questions. NTIA Filings on Mass Media
For more information Useful Links on Mass Media Mass Media archive For more information contact: Cable, Broadcasting & DTV: Tim Sloan, tsloan@ntia.doc.gov DTV: Alfred Lee, alee@ntia.doc.gov Office of Policy Analysis and Development National Telecommunications and Information Administration U.S. Department of Commerce 14th St. & Constitution Ave., NW, Room 4725 Washington, D.C. 20230 Voice: (202) 482-1880 · Fax: (202) 482-6173 E-mail: webopad@ntia.doc.gov |
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