SBCA Joins Digital Transition Coalition

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) joined the Digital Transition Coalition, a group originally formed to help accelerate the transition to digital television in the United States. The SBCA has been a supporter of the transition effort, and it has advocated allowing the satellite industry to provide high-definition digital signals when they are unavailable through terrestrial broadcast.

Congress also has pushed for a rapid transition from analog to digital, SBCA officials said. The completed transition would free analog spectrum that could be returned to the U.S. government and then auctioned for advanced wireless services, they added.

The analog spectrum also would be distributed to such public-safety entities as police and fire departments. The deadline, set by Congress, for this transition to take place is Dec. 31, 2006, or when 85 percent of U.S. television households can receive a digital signal — whichever comes later.