Fcc Action Makes All TVs Obsolete

Ending more than a year of acrimonious debate, the Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to loan each of the nation’s 1,600 television stations a second channel, formally launching the transition to digital, high-definition television, a changeover that will in time affect every American household.

The agency’s action will render obsolete all 240 million television sets now in use across the country. New digital televisions are to go on sale late next year, and under this new government order the transition to digital broadcasting is to end in 2006. That means every consumer will have to buy a new digital set by then to continue watching television.

Part of the commission’s rule requires television stations to begin broadcasting on their new digital channels under a rapid time line. In fact, under the rule, 53 percent of the nation’s households will be able to receive digital, high-definition programming on at least three different television stations by the end of 1999.