Converter-box program running out of money

"any day now, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the arm of the Commerce Department in charge of administering the coupon program, expects to hit a $1.34 billion funding ceiling set by Congress,
Unprepared households will lose all channels except for low-powered stations, which will still be allowed to transmit in analog temporarily."


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28472546/

 

Not a big deal. We have not watched the local off air channels in years.

 

Makes me glad I have cable!

 

Got rid of cable in 2004 and went to Directv. It was just a little bit more than the cable was charging for 35 channels.

 

My hubby installed sat dishes, and I will never go that route.

 

Curious question, why?

 

Rain fade, tuning problems, PITA. The other thing was that back when he was installing them(1999 -2000 0, there was the issue over local stations, which you still had to have a separate antenna for. Along with that, most landlords don't like them, and less headache when you move.

 

Rain fade is a problem, but still cheaper than the cable out here. We get the CBS feed from NY and LA for 4.95 a month. We don't watch the other channels, so we never considered the local problem.

I do admit, that when it changes, it will stop any looking at all.

 

We've had satellite for 10 years and I've got to tell you that the satellite of today is NOT the satellite of even 5 years ago. We get storm fade on rare occasion, if it's snow it's real easy to just wipe the dish off. Local programming is also not a problem anymore although I very well remember when it was. Another nice thing is the HD, we've got DirecTV and there are so many HD channels it's amazing. I love satellite and as a service it is light years ahead of cable.

 

I have experienced more rain fade, since I've upgraded to the Direct HD satellite, the HD channels seen to lose their signal quicker than the regular channels