[ChrisW6ATV]

The trouble with "market-based" solutions is that most people are far too short-sighted to ever choose what is good in the long term, and many things (like digital TV) require mass adoption to get their costs down to compete with and eventually surpass the old standards. In other cases, it is not just cost reduction that drives changes and government mandates. Without laws, would we have mandatory air bags, seat belts, or numerous other safety features in all of our cars? Most likely not; relatively few people go shopping based on those features, or fuel mileage (until recently), etc. The same was true for UHF tuners on TV sets; they were an extra-cost option (and therefore rare) until required by law, thus making UHF TV stations more viable, bringing many more on the air, and opening a far wider choice of programming to people who otherwise (and formerly) would not have chosen the "extra cost" UHF tuner.

If we "let the market decide", then all over-the-air TV will go away since 85% of the U.S. public has satellite or cable TV, and the remaining people are assumed to be lower income than those who pay for their TV reception. Digital TV, and its increased channel capacity (which means more ad sales), is going to help keep OTA TV available as an option, not hinder it, but most people will not choose it unless "they have to right now". Just look at all the nay-sayers on this forum alone, and we are more technically inclined and adept than the average public.