If you’ve already received your digital TV converter box coupon(s), don’t forget that they expire after just 90 days from the date of issue. That means the first coupons mailed out are set to expire in a few weeks. And expired coupons cannot be reissued. Once you have you coupon in hand, it’s now or never. You can read Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez’s statement on the issue here.
Also last week, good news for TV viewers who live in nursing homes or use P.O. boxes as their primary addresses. For some reason, they had previously been unable to apply for DTV converter coupons. Strange, since rural viewers and the elderly are more likely to be affected by the switch to digital. Now, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversees the coupon program, has indicated that it will change the rules so that these citizens can also receive up to two $40 coupons.
So far, the government reports that more than 650,000 of the coupons have been used to purchase boxes. Nearly 11.5 million have been mailed out, leaving about 10 million coupons remaining in the initial allotment of 22 million. A reserve of an additional11.5 million coupons can be tapped should the initial supply be exhausted, though it will be made available only to households with no cable or satellite service.
