The American Corn Growers Association came out last week against a
digital-tuner mandate, one of a host of "prominent public interest groups" whose
opposition was cited by Consumer Electronics Association, which is fighting the
mandate.
"Making broadcasters develop the programming in exchange for access to
valuable public resources, a digital spectrum worth $70 billion, makes sense.
Reversing course and forcing consumers to bare the brunt of the cost of the
transition to digital television does not," ACGA's statement said.
What with pesticide, genetic modification and trade authority issues to worry
about, how did DTV tuners wind up on corn farmers' plates.
The president of the association, Keith Dittrich, didn't know and wasn't
familiar with the issue, but said ACGA does monitor some telecom issues -- it
founded the Rural Telecommunications Alliance to lobby for open markets and
competitive pricing.
Dittrich referred the tuner conundrum to AGCA CEO Larry Mitchell, who said he
had "no idea," why they were opposing the mandate, but "was trying to find
out."
