FAQs — Why Is There HDTV?

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In the mid 1990's the federal government mandated the conversion to digital broadcasts to take place over the next ten years and the conversion of all TV stations to digital would take place by May 2002 for commercial stations and by May 2003 for noncommercial stations. In 2009 all analog broadcasting would stop.

In addition, the channel space currently reserved for channels 60-69 would be reallocated to wireless services. Later, channels 52-59 were added to the list to be reallocated. These channel would be auctioned off and the government would be able take in several billion dollars from the sale of these frequencies. Stations which reside on channels 55-69 will be moved to a lower channel number.

The transition to Digital Television is happening all over the world, with a few exceptions the US is leading the way in the transition to Digital Television.