The Senate has voted to set April 7, 2009, as the deadline for U.S. television stations to switch to digital broadcasts and free up analog radio spectrum for wireless broadband and public-safety uses. The Senate approved the digital-television (DTV) transition deadline late last week as part of a large budget package aimed at reducing the federal deficit. Auctioning off part of the freed-up spectrum is expected to raise $10 billion or more, with $5 billion going to the U.S. treasury in the Senate legislation.

Under current law, broadcasters are required to give up their analog spectrum by the end of 2006, but only in television markets where 85 percent of homes can receive digital signals. Some estimates say there are tens of millions of analog TV sets that receive signals over the air. Those sets won't work after the DTV transition without converter boxes.

Also on Thursday, the FCC moved up the deadline that all TVs sold in the U.S. must be capable of receiving digital signals by March 1, 2007.