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The Digital Television Transition, which took place on June 12, was largely a success. A public education program that started more than a year before the transition was far-reaching and effective, as government agencies and LCCREF worked in harmony with local community organizations around the country.

Along with our partner organizations, we were able to directly help thousands of people before and during the transition. Often, the already-existing relationships between local organizations and the people in their communities were the key to success in finding and helping those most in need.

The majority of problems that people had on the day of the transition were due to problems with the installation of DTV converter boxes. Some who had a converter box and antenna were not able to connect them to their TV. Our assistance centers were able to help with troubleshooting, and were also able to help people apply for coupons if they still needed a converter box.

Our work does not stop here; we are still running a national coupon exchange program and offering support to those who are now without access to television. Troubleshooting over the next few weeks will be vital in ensuring everyone has made the switch to digital television.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has created a "DTV Hotline" to provide support to consumers during the digital television transition.

If you have trouble installing your converter box or receiving digital channels, you can call the hotline at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322). TTY users can call 1-888-835-5322.

You can also call the hotline if you need assistance applying for a converter box coupon or finding a converter box retailer.

The transition to digital television is in three days. 

You can still apply for the converter box coupon, but it takes about nine business days to receive your coupon, so you won't receive it in time for the transition on Friday.  If you can, you may want to purchase and install a converter box so you can continue to access to critical emergency alerts and news.

If you have a converter box, there are still a few things you can do to get ready for the transition:

• Install your converter box today and make sure that it works. If you need help, check out our tips for choosing & setting up your converter box.
• Check with your family and neighbors who might need help purchasing or installing a converter box.
• If you have extra coupons that you are not going to use, donate them to LCCREF's national coupon donation program to be distributed to people in need.

Last Thursday, local broadcasters conducted "soft tests" of the nation's switch to digital television signals to remind the 3.3 million unprepared households to get ready for the transition on June 12th.

During the tests, viewers who were receiving analog over-the-air TV signals stopped getting their signals for a few minutes and were told to take action before June 12, the date when all analog signals will switch to digital. Calls to the FCC nearly quadrupled with people asking about the government coupon process, reception issues and problems with installing their converter box, showing that even people who had converter boxes still faced problems getting their TVs to work correctly.

"This soft test did exactly what it was supposed to do," said acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps.  "It was a wake-up call for consumers who are unprepared, alerting them to the fact that they need to take the necessary steps before the June 12 DTV transition."

If you don't yet have a converter box for your analog TV, you can still apply for the government's $40 coupons toward the cost of a converter box by applying online or calling 1-888-388-2009 (voice) or 1-877-530-2634 (TTY).

If you have any spare coupons, send them to LCCREF's national coupon exchange program so that we may get them to people in need.

Make sure your TV sets are DTV ready!

As of this week, anyone who previously requested DTV converter box coupons but didn't use them before their expiration date can request replacement coupons. However, households that have already requested and redeemed two coupons will not be able to get additional coupons.

With additional money allocated in the recent stimulus package, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has also been able to fill all the converter box coupon requests that had previously been placed on a waiting list.