High-Tech Leaders Urge Congress to Finalize DTV Transition Now

Legislation To Free Spectrum for Wireless Broadband, Public Safety Endorsed by CEOs of Software, Telecom Companies

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 14, 2005 - With Congressional action to mark up DTV legislation approaching rapidly, 31 CEOs and corporate presidents of leading U.S. high-tech companies are calling on the House and Senate Commerce Committees to enact a “hard date” now for the successful conclusion of the transition from analog to digital television.

Among the leaders signing the letter, which the High Tech DTV Coalition sent to every member of Congress, are: Alcatel North America President and CEO Hubert de Pesquidoux, Aloha Partners President and CEO Charles Townsend, AT&T Chairman and CEO David Dorman, Cisco Systems President and CEO John Chambers, Dell President and CEO Kevin Rollins, Intel Corporation Chairman Craig R. Barrett, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, QUALCOMM CEO Paul E. Jacobs, Texas Instruments President and CEO Richard K. Templeton, and T-Mobile USA President and CEO Robert Dotson.

“The completion of the DTV transition will free up spectrum that will provide tremendous opportunities to promote growth in the United States economy,” the CEOs wrote. “We encourage you to pass legislation that would complete the transition at the earliest possible date, but in no event later than January 1, 2009.”

The October 12, 2005 letter cited the estimated 1.2 million jobs that would result from extending broadband access to all Americans. The letter stressed the economic benefits of using the newly freed spectrum resulting from the transition to extend broadband Internet access and next-generation mobile services to all Americans. “New and innovative technologies that will help meet the goal of universal, affordable broadband access are already being developed and readied for early deployment in this spectrum,” they said. The CEOs also noted the benefits to the country of releasing spectrum for public safety communications upgrades, as recommended by the 9/11 Commission.

“These CEOs, who are leading their companies in wireless innovation, underscore the need for Congress to quickly enact a hard date completing the DTV transition,” said High Tech DTV Coalition Executive Director Janice Obuchowski. “We applaud the efforts of the House and Senate committee leadership to move rapidly toward legislation that will bring consumer and homeland security benefits to Americans and put this spectrum to its highest and best use.”

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has scheduled a mark-up next week of legislation to set a hard date for completing the DTV transition. Action is also pending in the House of Representatives, where Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) is drafting hard-date legislation.

The letter was signed by:
Jim Breyer, Managing Partner, Accel Partners;
George Conrades, Executive Chairman, Akamai Technologies, Inc.;
Hubert de Pesquidoux, President and CEO, Alcatel North America;
Charles Townsend, President and CEO, Aloha Partners;
David Dorman, Chairman and CEO, AT&T;
Scott McGregor, President and CEO, Broadcom Corporation;
John Chambers, President and CEO, Cisco Systems;
Gerald W. Gallimore, General Manager, Citizens Telephone Cooperative, Inc.;
Dwight W. Decker, PhD, Chairman and CEO, Conexant Systems, Inc.;
Tom Crawford, President and CEO, Cyber-Ark Software, Inc.;
Kevin Rollins, President and CEO, Dell;
Christopher Greene, President and CEO, Greene Engineers;
Anthony Ley, Chairman, President and CEO, Harmonic, Inc.;
Craig R. Barrett, Chairman, Intel Corporation;
Paul Deninger, Chairman, Jefferies Broadview;
Mark J. Zanoli, Managing Director, Head of Technology Investment Banking, JPMorgan;
Bob Martin, President, Jumpstart Partners, CEO, Internet REIT LP;
Brian T. Keane, President and CEO, Keane, Inc.;
John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers;
Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Microsoft Corporation;
Ralph J. Folz, CEO, Molecular, Inc.;
Paul E. Jacobs, CEO, QUALCOMM;
Arthur Coviello, President and CEO, RSA Security, Inc.;
Robert Farnsworth, CEO, Sonnet Technologies;
Dean DeBiase, Chairman, Start-Up-Partners;
Aart de Geus, Chairman and CEO, Synopsys, Inc.;
Richard K. Templeton, President and CEO, Texas Instruments;
Robert Dotson, President and CEO, T-Mobile USA;
Matthew E. Massengill, Chairman and CEO, Western Digital Corporation;
Willem Roelandts, President, CEO, Chairman of the Board, Xilinx;
Robin L. Curle, President, CEO and Chairman, Zebra Imaging, Inc.

The full text of the letter may be found at www.dtvcoalition.com.

About the High Tech DTV Coalition

The High Tech DTV Coalition includes leading trade associations and companies representing the wireless, computer, telecommunications equipment, semiconductor, software and manufacturing sectors of the U.S. economy. This group of technology leaders advocates an early date-certain for the transition to digital television in the United States, through a process that protects consumers, first responders, wireless broadband users and rural wireless users.

The Coalition’s members include Alcatel, Aloha Partners, AT&T, Dell, Cisco Systems, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, QUALCOMM, Texas Instruments, T-Mobile, Information Technology Industry Council, National Association of Manufacturers, Business Software Alliance, the Semiconductor Industry Association, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, the Rural Telecommunications Group, TechNet and the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies.

Contact Information

Mary Greczyn

Media Contact

High Tech DTV Coalition

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