FCC Preparing Requests for DTV Phone Banks, Local Help
The FCC is preparing contracting requests for helping viewers make the digital switch by June 12, agency officials said. That will help the agency spend the approximately $86.5 million in additional education money that it likely will get, they said. The commission will soon issue a request for quotes or request for proposals for a company to answer phone calls about the transition, they said. IBM received a $12 million order to handle up to 2 million calls the week of Feb. 17, when full-power broadcasters nationwide were to have stopped analog service.
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The FCC also will seek help from “grassroots” and other community organizations to help viewers in some markets make the switch, commission officials said. The FCC probably will also solicit information from potential vendors to run so- called walk-in centers to provide information on DTV and install digital converter boxes in the homes of elderly and others at risk of not making the digital switch, an official said. It may offer the help in the approximately 197 markets that haven’t already gone all-digital, the official said. A commission spokesman had no comment.
The grassroots contract requests may be released this week or next, an agency official said. They would be the second major batch. The FCC’s first $8.4 million in education awards (CD Jan 9 p7), from $20 million that Congress had allotted for the purpose, went to 12 groups in a process that some recipients and many members of the committee advising the FCC on DTV said was flawed. But members of the Consumer Advisory Committee said this week that they think the ways that the commission is likely to spend the DTV money it’s getting from the economic stimulus law are wise. The legislation set aside an additional $90 million for education. The NTIA’s chief has said her agency will use about $3.5 million (CD March 6 p2), and commission officials said it’s likely to use the rest.
The FCC will spend some of that $86.5 million to continue paying for 888-CALL-FCC at least through June 12, said agency officials. The money will ensure enough operators to deal with expected peaks in call volume through June as broadcasters shut off analog transmissions in the months before the nationwide deadline, a commission official said. The FCC also likely will spend money for a company to handle some calls, officials said.
Walk-in help would be provided to viewers dealing with the paperwork for $40 digital converter box coupons from the NTIA, and for demonstrating how to install and use the devices, a commission official said. In-home assistance likely will include digital converter box installation, the official said. All FCC members have been involved in the education plans and are exchanging information -- unlike in the previous round of grassroots contracts, when no commissioners were involved (CD Jan 8 p2), an agency official said. Among the questions commissioners are considering is how to spend the education money in a way that won’t duplicate broadcasters’ efforts, by concentrating on services rather than general outreach, the official said.
Two advisers critical of past FCC DTV education efforts said they support how it plans to parcel out funds this time. “The idea of having a physical place to go and from which to serve is a wonderful idea,” said Benton Foundation Chairman Charles Benton, a member of the FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee. “I am thrilled that they are finally getting around to the in-home help because there has been a cry for that from the beginning.” Member Ken McEldowney, of Consumer Action, called walk-in centers and in-home help in markets that haven’t gone fully digital a good idea. “I'd also like to see targeted, multilingual educational efforts in those areas,” he added.
To be successful, the FCC must train community group members how to demonstrate digital converter boxes to consumers, answer questions about them and install them, McEldowney said. They'll need “sample converter boxes,” too, he said. Converter box installation visits could include repositioning antennas to get digital reception, important in places where “people can’t get a good, strong signal,” said Irene Leech, who recently joined the committee to represent the Consumer Federation of America. Though the FCC’s plans to focus on a few large projects has the effect of “limiting what you do,” she added, “doing it well is better than doing 20 million things partway.”