Group tries to lower digital TV costs

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A consumer advocacy group said it will petition the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to try to lower the costs of digital television sets.

The petition expected to be filed Friday asks the federal watchdog to revise its rule for digital TV patent licenses, arguing that TV manufacturers charge too much to use the technology, which drives up prices for the TV sets, The Washington Post reported.

U.S. television buyers pay about $30 more per digital set than consumers in other countries, the Coalition United to Terminate Financial Abuses of the Television Transition said, because electronics makers are being overcharged to use the technology for digital tuners and converter boxes, among other things, and passing along the prices to consumers.

"The costs hit the poorest Americans the hardest and place hugely disproportionate burdens on Americans who rely on free over-the-air broadcasting to watch television," the coalition said in its petition.

The coalition said it also plans to file complaints Monday against companies it says demand higher-than-necessary royalties for use of digital television patents.

Digital televisions sets first were available for sale in 1998 after the FCC approved U.S. standards for the technology. With a nationwide migration to digital TV planned for Feb. 17, many consumers are buying digital sets because analog TVs won't work without a converter box.