With One Month Left Until the DTV Transition, DTV Organizers Highlight Common Challenges

Media 05.12,09

Washington, DC – Today, DTV organizers from around the country joined the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF) to mark the one-month countdown to the official digital TV transition deadline. The organizers – from Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Francisco – discussed common stumbling blocks for families making the transition to digital.


While many affected households have taken action, there are still an estimated three million households who are not yet prepared for the June 12 switch and local organizations are ramping up efforts to help families in their cities get DTV-ready.


Below are some examples of the work LCCREF DTV Assistance Centers are doing to help residents prepare for the fast-approaching switch to digital: 



  • Self-Help for the Elderly in San Francisco, CA is providing drop-in services and basic in-home installation services upon request through their in-language (English, Spanish and Chinese, Cantonese and Mandarin) hotline.  Each day, Self-Help fields hundreds of calls from area residents. The group is working hard to help residents overcome the unique challenges posed by San Francisco’s topography, while also meeting the needs of the area’s large aging population.  Watch some of Self-Help’s work in the Asian American community.  

  • The Main Street Project, the Minnesotano Media Empowerment Project, the Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota, and the People Escaping Poverty Project of Minneapolis, MN, recently partnered with an NTIA-certified retailer to hold a “No-Cost Box Event” where residents could exchange their DTV coupons for a converter box at no cost to them. This event helped hundreds of area residents get DTV-ready.  See the no-cost box event in Minneapolis. 

DTV Updates



  • Applying for Coupons. The government has cleared the coupon program backlog and has accelerated their turnaround time. The typical time period between coupon request and coupon delivery is roughly nine days.


  • Applications for Replacement Coupons. The government coupon program is now accepting applications from consumers whose coupons expired without being redeemed. People can reapply online or by calling 1-888-DTV-2009. Deaf or hard of hearing callers may use 1-877-530-2634 (TTY).

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LCCREF has teamed up with local organizations nationwide to provide trainings and DTV-related assistance to members of impacted populations in seven major cities: Atlanta, GA; Detroit, MI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; Portland, OR; San Antonio, TX; San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland CA; and Seattle-Tacoma, WA.