On July 12, 2005, Michael Calabrese testified before the full Senate Commerce Committee about issues regarding the nation's transition from analog to digital television (DTV) broadcasting. Below is a summary of his testimony. To access the full transcript, refer to the PDF file linked below.

TV channels 52 to 69 have become a vast wasteland of underutilized airwaves that are urgently needed for both public safety and for wireless broadband services. Because of the urgent need to reallocate these frequencies, it is critical that that Congress not repeat the mistake of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, a bill which set a deadline for TV band auctions, but not a policy to ensure that the spectrum would be cleared by a date certain. A credible hard deadline for channel clearance – one reinforced by a broad consumer compensation program – can spin straw into gold. Recent private spectrum transactions demonstrate that the 10 returned TV band channels (60 MHz) available for auction are expected to generate between $15 and $30 billion. We recommend that Congress avoid passing another shortsighted, budget-driven bill and use this opportunity to make three policy investments with long-term benefits for the general public:

1. A broad-based consumer converter box subsidy that ensures all households that still rely on analog over-the-air reception are held harmless.

We believe that a means-tested compensation program is neither administratively practical nor fair. Because the auction of the public’s airwaves will generate more than enough revenue to compensate consumers, it seems only fair to offer at least one rebate to each household. If the Committee does not choose to means-test the consumer rebate, we believe that on balance it will be most cost-efficient to reimburse “qualified” retailers, who would need to agree to offer converters certified by the FCC, to limit the consumer share of the cost (e.g., a small “co-pay”), and to provide a degree of technical support. If eligibility is limited to one rebate per household, a coupon could be mailed to each household. If possible, any rebate program should give consumers the choice to use it to offset the cost of a converter box, a new digital TV, or even a satellite dish or cable set-top box, since any of these devices will preserve access to broadcast channels and serve the policy purpose of the DTV transition.

2. The reallocation of 20 of the 60 MHz of spectrum available for wireless services to unlicensed broadband networks, as well as the opening of unassigned DTV channels in each market for sharing by low-power unlicensed devices.

The lack of affordable, high-speed Internet access for millions of homes and small businesses in the US is a threat to American competitiveness. The U.S. has fallen from 3^rd to 16^th in broadband adoption worldwide over the past five years. We recommend that Congress address this “broadband gap” by using the DTV transition to encourage both licensed and unlicensed wireless broadband networks as competitive alternatives to wireline cable and DSL offerings. First, from the 60 MHz (10 channels) now designated for auction and exclusive licensing, the FCC should be directed to reallocate 20 MHz for shared, unlicensed use. Second, the FCC should be instructed to complete its pending rulemaking (Docket 04-186) that would open unassigned TV channels below 52 for unlicensed public access, subject to rules for avoiding interference.

3. Earmarking TV band auction revenue in excess of the CBO “score” into a trust fund to finance the digital future of public broadcasting and e-learning technologies.

Any auction of the people’s airwaves should be seen as an opportunity to invest in the digital future of our public media and educational institutions. The proceeds exceeding the CBO “score” could be earmarked to capitalize a trust fund to finance ongoing investments in both educational media and e-learning content and applications. We recommend that the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust (DOIT) Act, introduced by Senators Snowe and Burns in May, which earmarks spectrum revenue for these purposes, be incorporated into the DTV transition legislation.