Draft DTV deadline: 04.07.2009
I thought they would have proposed January 1, 2009, but you never can tell with the legislators. The current proposed date to shut down analog and go to digital television is April 7th, 2009. For you other detail freaks (like me), that's the Tuesday after we switch to Daylight Savings Time in 2009 or the 97th day of the year. ("01100001" is the binary or digital equivalent of "97". Yes...I can read the code in The Matrix too.)
If you have any interest in purchasing some unused spectrum, start saving up now. The auction is expected to raise about $4.8-billion, although the prognosticators at the office of eternal optimism (I mean the Congressional Budget Office) are thinking more like $10-billion. The expected start of the auction is January 28, 2008 so don't jump on eBay just yet..
Keep in mind this is just a draft bill, so don't mark your calendars just yet. If this is the date however, it's after both the Super Bowl and the NCAA March Madness tourney: two outstanding high-def presentations that help sway HDTV sales. Might have made sense to go with that January 1 date I was thinking, no?
