Now that June 12 has come and gone, it may be time to ask: Who, if anyone, benefits from the mandatory upgrade to digital television transmission?
The move inconvenienced millions of Americans who had to obtain converter boxes for their old analog television sets. The government spent billions preparing the viewing public.
But advocates and regulators say the expense and hassle was worth it.
The government received $19.6 billion for the nearly 1,100 spectrum licenses it sold in 2008, depositing that money into the Treasury. And the nation will have access to faster Internet connections, better emergency services, and sharper TV pictures and better sound, said Michael J. Copps, acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
"It's going to be a win-win situation," he said in a meeting with The Times this week. "Broadcasters can't just say we're going to be exempt from digital."
Digital broadcasting represents a more efficient use of the spectrum, analysts said. It takes fewer airwaves to transmit a digital signal than it does an analog one, which means companies can use the reclaimed airwaves to enhance communication, said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at the New America Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute.
"It frees up the airwaves for wireless broadband and other innovation, which is really the biggest benefit," he said.
By taking back television channels 52 to 69, the government gets valuable airwaves that can carry lots of information across long distances and easily penetrate bad weather and barriers such as houses and trees, he said. Less than 15% of the population used the airwaves to receive TV broadcasts, making it inefficient to use the spectrum for TV.
These airwaves will allow for more capacity in wireless broadband and cellphone coverage, and telecom companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, which purchased large chunks of spectrum, are relying on them to roll out high-speed cellular networks.
Verizon spent $9.36 billion for blocks of airwaves the company said it would use to roll out faster wireless Internet service powered by a technology called Long Term Evolution.
Verizon spokesman Ken Muche said that as soon as the digital transition was complete, the company would move into select markets "and begin building the first 4G network in the U.S." Verizon plans to launch 4G networks in 20 to 30 major U.S. markets next year.
