House members request DTV quiet period

Two members of the House of Representatives have asked the FCC and the National Telecommunications & Information Administration to support a “meaningful” retransmission consent quiet period around the DTV transition.

Reps. Nathan Deal, R-GA, and Anna Eshoo, D-CA, last month urged the FCC to endorse a quiet period that would begin before the end of the year and continue for a “reasonable” period of time beyond the Feb. 17, 2009, switch to digital TV.

During that time, TV stations could not remove their over-the-air signals from cable and satellite operators’ lineups. The congressional members are concerned about confusion that could “can put unnecessary demand” on the NTIA’s DTV converter coupon program.