WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama signed a bill on Wednesday delaying next week's planned nationwide shift to digital television until June.
"During these challenging economic times, the needs of American consumers are a top priority of my administration," Obama said in a statement released by the White House.
"Millions of Americans, including those in our most vulnerable communities, would have been left in the dark if the conversion had gone on as planned, and this solution is an important step forward as we work to get the nation ready for digital TV," he said.
February 17 was the date set for an end to analog broadcasts by television stations in the United States, but Congress last week extended the date until June 12.
Nearly 700 US television stations plan to end analog broadcasts next week anyway, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The FCC, in a public notice posted on its website fcc.gov on Tuesday, listed 681 television stations which plan to end analog signal broadcasts on February 17.
There are some 1,800 television stations in the United States. Major TV networks such as ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are not among those planning to cut off their analog broadcasts next week.
Stations which notified the FCC by Monday of plans to end analog service next week are being allowed to do so.
The government has been providing Americans who rely on over-the-air signals with a 40-dollar coupon to defray the cost of buying a digital converter box.
But the coupon program has run out of funds and, according to research firm Nielsen Co., more than 6.5 million American households are not prepared for the switch.
Many of the unprepared are low-income households, minorities, seniors or disabled, according to Nielsen.
The switch to digital television will free up wireless airwaves for public safety agencies and other advanced mobile services.
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