shutdowns

Items Affected By The Cellular Analog Network Shutdown

The analog-to-digital TV revolution is still a year off, but the country's oldest cellular network will be shut down in February. Wired and Associated Press provide the following list of what kinds of items will be affected.

Cell phones
"In particular, check phones that are kept around as 911-only phones. Such phones, which don't have a phone number and aren't initialized with a carrier, were given out by some donation programs that collected old phones." Less than 1% of cell phones currently in use are analog, but the article points out that that still counts for over a million devices. Anything less than 5 years old or that can text message isn't analog. More »

obsolescence

FCC Fines Radio Shack For Selling Analog TVs With No Consumer Warning

The FCC is serious when they say they want retailers to warn consumers about purchasing analog TVs. This week they've announced fines against Radio Shack, HH Gregg, FYE, Fred Meyer Stores, Ultimate Electronics, and Boscov's for selling TVs without a warning label.

The consumer alert rule states that retailers have to post a warning like this one from Kmart's website:

CONSUMER ALERT: This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation's transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. For more information, call the Federal CommunicationsCommission at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322) or visit the Commission's digital television website at: www.dtv.gov.

The FCC supposedly has undercover agents working in stores and surfing the web to make sure stores aren't selling obsolete TVs to hapless rabbit-ear using folks. Meanwhile, Best Buy has stopped selling analog TVs outright. More »

obsolescence

FCC To Retailers: "Warn Consumers About Analog TVs"

Retailers are trying to unload their dwindling stocks of analog-only TVs before the big switch to digital in 2009, but the FCC says that they have to place warnings in "close proximity" to models which will require a converter box to receive broadcast signals after 2009 or face the wrath that is FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's laser gun of doom. Just kidding, he actually has a pickax of happiness. Anyhow, Kmart seems to have gotten the message, they've posted this warning on a 15" Sylvania analog TV:

CONSUMER ALERT: This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation's transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. For more information, call the Federal CommunicationsCommission at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322) or visit the Commission's digital television website at: www.dtv.gov.

The FCC supposedly has undercover agents surfing the web and shopping in-store, on the prowl for analog TVs that are not clearly marked as such. Fear the FCC. The warnings come after retailers promised that federal regulations were not necessary, then showed that they were by ignoring the voluntary program. —MEGHANN MARCO More »