DTV Transition and the Failure of the FCC
The FCC was set up in 1934 with the explicit purpose of divvying out the EM spectrum in order to keep those greedy businessmen from stomping over each other’s transmissions. But just like every other government bureaucracy, it has grown well beyond its mandate, seizing more power every chance it got. What the FCC has become is something so much more powerful and tyrannical than anyone in the 1930′s could have imagined. What we have now is a sprawling bureaucracy that can now set up regional monopolies, censor content, stifle innovation and upcoming technologies, levy fines and jail terms, and create a huge imbalance in the market of communications.
Ever wonder why you can only get one local cable provider? The FCC. Ever wonder why cell phone technology which has been around since the 60′s has only become popular in the last decade or so? The FCC. Why in the world does the freedom of speech not apply when dealing with over the air transmissions? The FCC. Why are there only a few huge radio conglomerates that run 90%+ of all the stations in the US? The FCC. Why can’t you start a local radio station on an unused frequency in your area? The FCC. How come digital (HD) radio is only now coming out when the technology has been around since the 70′s? The FCC. Why are millions of people scrambling to get a digital TV (DTV) converter before February 17th? The FCC. I could keep going, but I think you get my point.
What I want to do is shine a spotlight on right now is this huge DTV mandate debacle that is going on right now. A few years ago the FCC proclaimed from upon high that all broadcast television signals would have to cancel their analog signals and use the newer digital modulation scheme only (which many major broadcasters already provided). Did the market demand this total change? Absolutely not, in fact the adoption of newer HD TV’s (ones made after 2005 were required to be able to receive the digital broadcast natively) is somewhere in the range of 25%. That means that 75% of the people in the US that own televisions would no longer be able to receive over the air broadcast (bunny ears antennas will no longer work with older TV’s but coax cable broadcasts will still be compatible).
The FCC knew about this fact and decided that they were going to subsidize the older TV owners with your money by offering DTV converter box coupons to any who applied. So just like every other government program throughout history, the FCC creates a problem (mandating the conversion to DTV at the threat of violence) then expands its bureaucracy to fix the problem they created in the first place. But here is the real kick in the pants, the $1.34bn that was allotted to finance this coupon program has already gone bankrupt. Meaning all the people who were unable to afford the converter boxes, whose money was stolen from them to pay for those boxes, are now no longer able to receive them. So starting Feb 17th all these people will be staring at an empty wallet and a black screen. So what does the FCC propose? Why give them more of your money of course!
My solution to this huge problem? Abolish the FCC. It is an archaic dinosaur with no real purpose any longer (other than to expand the power of the Federal Government). Let businessmen and consumer choice decide how stations are managed. The RF spectrum is already very well partitioned, and there are plenty of private agencies that could resolve disputes between two parties pertaining to their use of a frequency. This would immediately open up the marketplace to a huge number of competing people to provide customers with new better technologies, innovative content, and cheaper service. In the current economic times wouldn’t it be better to make the costs of running a business cheaper rather than more cumbersome and expensive?
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Author: renniks (15 Articles)
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