Feb 17? Not necessarily. Jun 12? Definitely. Really. For sure this time.

The analog shutoff has been promoted as being Feb 17 for years now, yet some people are still in the dark about it apparently.

I think a big part of it is that Congress and the FCC didn’t want to look like the bad guys when Ethel and Homer lost their TV signals. Now the shutoff date is up to the station. Let the station take the blame.

Deadlines are created for a reason. Yes, the coupon program had some problems. Yes, many people don’t pay attention to the daily notices that they might lose their TV signals. Most markets held soft tests to see who might be affected. Many SBE chapters worked phone banks to answer questions about the transition.

Meanwhile, the companies that bought the 700MHz spectrum that will be freed are still waiting to get access to it.

Feb 17 should have been left in place.