The FCC has made its ultimate threat a permanent rule. If a TV station doesn’t build DTV facilities, it will ultimately go off the air.
In finalizing the interim rules governing DTV construction, the FCC is preparing for the day it must deal with the hard-core laggards. “Although we find that overall DTV construction is continuing at an acceptable rate, we must be prepared to deal with stations that do not meet their DTV-construction obligation,” the FCC said.
About 93 percent of television stations have already been granted DTV construction permits. Of those, 794 stations are now on-the-air and 772 have received extensions of permits under the May 1, 2002 deadline.
For more information visit www.fcc.gov.