DTV Delay Act

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate passed version is repeated here.) DTV Delay Act - Amends the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to delay the transition of television broadcasting from analog to digital to June 13, 2009. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to extend for a 116-day period the licenses for recovered spectrum, including the license period and construction requirements associated with those licenses. Extends to July 31, 2009, provided additional budget authority is enacted, the deadline for requesting digital-to-analog converter box coupons. Authorizes the issuance, on request, of one replacement coupon for each coupon that expired without being redeemed. Declares that this Act does not prevent: (1) a station from ending analog broadcasting (and continuing to broadcast exclusively digitally) before June 13, 2009; or (2) a public safety service from beginning operations on spectrum recovered as a result of such voluntary cessation of analog or digital broadcasting. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to extend through September 30, 2012 (under current law, September 30, 2011), the authority of the FCC to grant a license or permit under provisions relating to competitive bidding.

Congressional Research Service · 2009-02-11