December 2008
On December 24, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement the recently enacted Short-Term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness (SAFER) Act. The SAFER Act directs the Commission to develop a “nightlight” program to permit stations to continue to broadcast analog signals for 30 days after the February 17, 2009 DTV transition deadline for the limited purpose of providing public safety and digital television (“DTV”) transition information. The Notice describes the FCC’s framework for implementing the nightlight program and establishes an expedited public comment period. The notice was published in the Federal Register on December 31, 2008, thereby establishing Monday, January 5, 2009 as the deadline for comments, and Thursday, January 8 as the deadline for reply comments.
A PDF version of this entire article can be found at FCC Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Analog Nightlight Program.