Federal Communications Commission FCC 08-281
STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS
RE: Implementation of Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act; Establishment of DTV 
Transition “Analog Nightlight” Program, MB Docket No. 08-255
A key lesson coming out of the DTV transition in Wilmington, NC on September 8 was the 
importance of broadcasting an analog message to the many consumers who were unprepared for the 
switch.  Within days of the Wilmington test, I asked the Commission to develop market-by-market plans 
across the country, based upon factors such as analog channel and transmitter availability and industry 
willingness to participate.  Then Senator Rockefeller and Representative Capps introduced their very 
forward-looking “analog nightlight” legislation, which passed the Senate on November 23 and the House 
on December 11.  This legislation appropriately gives the FCC a short turnaround time—January 15, 
2009—to fully implement a program in time for the upcoming transition.  I commend Senator Rockefeller 
and Representative Capps for their tremendous work in seeing this important legislation through in such a 
compressed timeframe.  It is now up to us to implement it just as effectively.
Unfortunately, today’s item lacks the thoroughness that I think Congress expects of us.  I am 
particularly disappointed that little engineering work seems to have been done to maximize the number of 
stations that can participate in the program.  Instead, the Notice applies a distance separation standard that 
protects against interference by requiring that Analog Nightlight stations be 164 miles or more from DTV 
stations operating on the same channel.  The item acknowledges that this approach is “conservative” and 
likely over-protects digital signals from interference.  In other words, it is a blunt instrument that contains 
fewer Analog Nightlight stations than can and should be accommodated.  As a result, the Notice fails to 
identify a single potential Analog Nightlight station in 74 of 210 DMAs nationwide.
The item does propose to permit individual stations that do not meet the mileage separation 
requirements to submit their own engineering studies to demonstrate that they will not cause actual 
interference.  I hope they do that, but we should not be placing the entire burden on individual stations to 
go to the trouble and expense of hiring engineering consultants and filing proposals with the FCC at this 
late date.  The stakes are too high and time is too short.  I do welcome my colleagues’ willingness to 
commit the FCC to identifying those areas where Analog Nightlight service will not be available and 
trying to find possible solutions.  But it’s late in the day and this is not the way that a coordinated and 
proactive public-private partnership should work.