Satellite Television: Historical Information on SHVIA and LOCAL (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Dec. 15, 2004 |
| Report Number |
RS20425 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Marcia Smith, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
Congress has passed several laws to provide consumers greater access to local network television
stations, particularly via satellite. The 1988 Satellite Home Viewer Act (SHVA), amended in 1994,
was expanded in 1999 with the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA). SHVIA allows
(not requires ) satellite companies to retransmit a local broadcast network signal back
into the same
local market area from which it originates ("local-into-local"). Concerned that satellite TV
companies do not plan to offer local-into-local in all parts of the country, Congress then passed the
Launching Our Communities Access to Local Television Act (LOCAL). That act creates a loan
guarantee program to help ensure that consumers in small and rural markets receive local network
TV stations via satellite or other technologies. This historical report summarizes SHVIA and
LOCAL, and the debate over whether a company called Northpoint should be able to use the same
frequencies as satellites to transmit data and television using terrestrial systems. It does not address
the 2004 Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA). See CRS Report RS21768 instead. This report will not be updated.
