AUGUSTA – Fewer than 18 months from now, on Feb. 18, 2009, the digital TV age will replace the existing analog service, and the TV sets most people now own no longer will pick up television programs.

“Really, very few people know about this,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Allen of Maine’s 1st District. “It has been debated in Congress for several years, but, frankly, I don’t think the man on the street or the woman on the street is aware this is going to happen.”

Allen, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with jurisdiction over telecommunications issues, said the Federal Communications Commission needs to do a better job of educating the public. The agency plans to spend $5 million on a campaign to inform the public of the switch-over, but Allen and many other members of Congress do not believe that will be enough.

“Some of the people that are going to be most affected by this are not the people who follow what is going on in Congress,” he said. “There are a lot of people that only get their television over the air and don’t have cable or satellite service.”

The FCC estimates that nearly one in every five households in the United States receives television service with a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears” on top of the TV.

After Feb. 18, 2009, such analog sets won’t be able to use the new digital signals without a digital-to-analog converter box.

“They tell us there will be at least 16 million television sets that need converters to see digital TV,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee with jurisdiction over telecommunications issues. “Certainly I don’t think enough is being done to get the public ready for this transition.”

She said Congress has appropriated $1.5 billion to provide coupons to help consumers buy converter boxes. She said the distribution of the $40 coupons will be handled by the FCC but details are still being worked out. What those converter boxes will cost also is unclear, but they are likely to be considerably cheaper than replacing an analog television with a new digital TV.

“The FCC established stringent rules for what the converter boxes have to do, and that has delayed their development and production,” said Suzanne Goucher, president of the Maine Association of Broadcasters. “We had hoped they would be widely available now, but they are not.”

She agreed with both Allen and Snowe that the FCC effort will not be adequate. She said TV broadcasters are gearing up in Maine and across the country through the National Association of Broadcasters to launch a massive advertising campaign explaining the new technology and how viewers who do not want to buy a new digital TV can get converters.

“I would say that across the country by the time it is over, we are talking billions [of dollars] being spent to inform people of the change,” Goucher said. “They are treating it like a political campaign, and the candidate is digital TV.”

Mainers with cable or satellite dishes will not notice a change because the cable and satellite companies will provide the converter service through the control boxes they give consumers. Analog VCRs, DVD players, camcorders and video games will still work but may not provide digital-quality picture and sound. Some may require special hookups or their own converter box to obtain a signal.

Goucher said most Maine TV stations already are broadcasting both the new digital or high-definition signals, and the old analog signals at high expense to allow for a phase-in of the new service. She said the quality of the digital TVs is “breathtaking” compared with current pictures.

She said some Maine stations are not yet broadcasting digital with the full power allowed by the FCC because of their closeness to Canadian station allocations. She said that when they do, nearly all Mainers will be able to receive the digital signals over the air.

“There is what is called the cliff effect with digital signals,” she said. “If you get the signal, it is a perfect picture,” and if the signal is not strong enough, there is no picture at all.

Gone, Goucher said, will be the days of snowy pictures with “ghosts” and marginal picture quality.

But the reason for the move to digital broadcasting is not to improve picture quality, Snowe said. She said current analog VHF and UHF stations use far more of the limited frequency spectrum to broadcast than digital technology uses.

She pointed out that the change will free up many frequencies to be used by police, fire and emergency personnel.

“I have always been concerned that we not lose sight of why we are making this change,” she said. “It will free up spectrum for public safety use. It is a more efficient way to make use of the airwaves.”

The move also is expected to generate billions of dollars. The FCC plans to auction blocks of frequencies not set aside for public safety use for several other purposes, from wireless Internet access to other wireless devices.