"Near-term certainty about when the DTV transition will be complete is critical to unleashing the potential of this valuable spectrum at 700 MHz for advanced wireless and public safety applications," said Janice Obuchowski, the Coalition's Executive Director. "Congress has anticipated the public interest and economic benefits promised by the DTV transition for nearly 20 years. The time for realizing this broad range of benefits is past due."
The Coalition outlined the commitment of its members to work for an early hard date for the DTV transition in letters sent this week to leaders of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The letters emphasized that an early date certain is needed to: (1) Promote growth and protect U.S. leadership in the high-tech sector; (2) Extend the reach of broadband services to rural and underserved areas; (3) Provide critical spectrum for enhancing public safety communications systems; (4) Provide new, high-quality jobs for U.S. workers; (5) Provide better consumer options by promoting competition.
The High Tech DTV Coalition believes providing certainty to the transition will provide a "win-win" scenario for all stakeholders. The Coalition's vision for expediting the DTV transition to become a near-term reality -- rather than a long-deferred goal -- includes working with all stakeholders, including broadcasters. The Coalition supports the concept of a program to support availability of converter boxes for households dependent on analog equipment to receive over-the-air television signals.
"This spectrum is 'beach-front property' in terms of its potential for broadband wireless services," said Intel Chief Executive Officer Craig R. Barrett. "Not only will it lead to viable third-wire competitors to existing broadband providers, it will also reach far into rural areas, at relatively low cost, giving consumers in under-served areas broadband options they have never had before."
"An early date certain will unleash innovators to develop a broad range of wireless services which exploit unique features of the 700 MHz spectrum," said Irwin Mark Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. "Public safety, enterprises, and consumers will quickly benefit from technology now confined to the drawing boards and at a cost that supports broad public usage."
In letters sent to leaders and ranking members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the Coalition said, "Adding certainty to the transition process is the key to fulfilling the economic and public welfare benefits of the transition. Certainty will allow the U.S. high-tech industry to secure the investment and develop the business plans required to deploy wireless broadband services in the 700 MHz band."
The Coalition's members include Alcatel, Aloha Partners, AT&T, Dell, Cisco Systems, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, T-Mobile, Information Technology Industry Council, National Association of Manufacturers, Business Software Alliance, the Semiconductor Industry Association, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association and the Rural Telecommunications Group.
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