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 SEPARATE  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 
 Re:  Second  Periodic  Review  of  the  Commission’s  Rules  and  Policies  Affecting  the  Conversion  to  Digital  Television,  Report  and  Order 
 This  item  appropriately  moves  the  digital  television  transition  forward.  It  establishes  a  staggered  channel  election  process  to  arrive  at  a  final  channel  assignment  for  broadcasters. 
 Along  the  way,  we  worked  hard  to  ensure  that  broadcasters  have  as  much  ability  as  possible  to  make  informed  judgments  consistent  with  our  overarching  goal  of  speeding  the  transition  and 
 bringing  enhanced  digital  viewing  to  consumers.  We  recognize  that  further  work  is  needed  to  address  low  power  stations  and  international  border  coordination.  We  advance  innovation 
 through  distributed  transmission  technologies.  We  open  up  technical  avenues  for  enhancements  to  v-  chip  and  closed  captioning  technologies.  And  we  continue  to  monitor  efforts  to  improve 
 consumer  information.  Each  of  these  steps  advances  the  transition  and  adds  further  clarity,  certainty,  and  transparency  to  the  process. 


 While  I’m  pleased  that  we  march  on  with  the  mechanics  of  the  digital  transition,  I  am  puzzled  why  we  have  not  yet  provided  broadcasters  and  the  public  with  a  concrete  understanding 
 of  broadcasters’  public  interest  obligations  in  the  digital  age. 
 This  necessary  piece  of  the  transition  continues  to  lag  further  and  further  behind.  Congress  made  clear  that  broadcasters  continue  to  have  public  interest  obligations  in  the  digital 
 world,  but  left  it  up  to  the  Commission  to  specify  how  those  should  be  applied.  As  we  continue  to  speed  the  arrival  of  the  best  possible  digital  television  service  to  the  public,  several 
 proceedings  that  could  bring  certainty  continue  to  linger  at  the  Commission.  More  than  four  years  ago  the  Commission  inquired  generally  how  it  should  update  broadcasters’  public  interest 
 obligations  for  the  digital  age.  In  September  2000,  the  Commission  followed  with  specific  proceedings  to  update  children’s  television  obligations  and  to  standardize  and  enhance 
 broadcasters’  disclosure  of  public  files.  In  this  periodic  review,  we  sought  additional  comment  on  these  proceedings  and  stated  our  goal  of  bringing  them  to  a  prompt  conclusion.  Yet  no 
 further  action  has  been  taken  on  any  of  those  proceedings. 
 We’ve  had  more  than  ample  time  to  bring  the  public  interest  into  the  transition.  Parents  are  eager  to  know  what  opportunities  the  transition  will  bring  to  their  children.  Candidates 
 should  be  able  to  use  the  Internet  to  quickly  determine  the  political  advertising  landscape  of  a  given  station.  Broadcasters  should  welcome  the  opportunity  to  showcase  their  local  civic  and 
 public  affairs  coverage  on  their  websites.  The  digital  age  offers  tremendous  opportunities  for  both  broadcasters  and  the  public.  Multicasting  and  other  new  horizons  in  digital  broadcasting 
 should  correspond  to  new  horizons  in  serving  the  public  interest. 
 A  new  era  in  broadcasting  is  taking  shape  now.  The  vast  bulk  of  broadcasters  are  now  broadcasting  digitally,  with  hundreds  broadcasting  multiple  programming  streams.  We  owe  it  to 
 the  public  and  to  broadcasters  to  devote  sufficient  time  and  resources  of  this  Commission  to  establishing  concrete,  measurable  public  interest  obligations  to  fulfill  Congress’s  vision  of  this 
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 enhanced  digital  viewing  experience.  Let’s  not  leave  the  public  behind  as  we  continue  finalizing  the  blueprints  for  digital  television. 
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