April 8, 2008

US Senators: Residents Of "Tribal Areas", Senior Citizens Too Stupid To Find Converter Box Coupon Website

US senators are apparently panicking that many American citizens won't be ready for DTV2009 for such reasons as not being able to spell and inattentiveness. At a hearing this afternoon on Capitol Hill, members of the US Senate Commerce Committee questioned whether or not FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and NTIA Chief Meredith Baker were doing an adequate job spreading the message of the digital TV transition to every corner of the US. Among the groups most worried about were senior citizens, residents of "tribal areas" and those who don't know how to type. Concern about the latter group led Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor to call on Baker to purchase more domain names other than dtv2009.gov to cover all possible spelling mistakes. Apparently if those searching for the site don't type in the exact domain name above, they'll be led astray, never to reach the elusive $40 converter box coupon.

More educational campaigns have been called for including more TV announcements during primetime TV hours, vehicles with DTV2009 digital signs driving around urban areas, and monthly progress reports from both the FCC and NTIA.

Via CNET

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