DTV is and always has been able to transmit as well as receive. Doesn't that make you feel safer? Relevant in light of A Human Right's ongoing inspiring attempts to buy the now-shelved largest satellite ever made in order to provide all people of Earth with basic internet access -- for free. (See Group plans to beam free Internet across the globe from space over at Raw Story).
The 2003 whitepaper below discusses the then only theoretical switch from analog to digital television, proposes a Nationwide Alert System (in case of terrorism, of course) -- and reveals some very interesting things along the way, such as [emphasis mine]:
• • The system is “addressable” so that public safety agencies can pinpoint to whom the data is sent... they can send targeted, encrypted information to certain authorized individuals.....
• • new digital technologies to create and deploy a platform that will enable two-way and point-to-point communications. This system can be leveraged to support a national homeland security alert system....
• • digital broadcast streams may be compressed—which creates the opportunity to use that spectrum for other purposes....
Read more here: PDF (let me know in comments if you need a plaintext link.)
Hmmm. I'm sure those other purposes are good ones. Certainly that targeting won't be used except in emergencies, hmm? And that two-way thing - with consent. of course.
All upwellings of bitter sarcasm notwithstandsing, recent events no doubt underscore how important it is not to leave control of this crucial resource up to the individual governments. Egypt has taught us that they will not hesitate to do whatever they need to do to keep themselves alive.
Be not surprised if, after you read this, last year's sudden switchover to digital and Obama's recent promise to provide Americans -- 98% of them -- with internet access (albeit 4G - still 2way) seems different -- somehow...
Be seeing you.
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