The Federal Communications Commission just announced that it is looking into whether several homeowner's associations have the right to restrict or ban antenna installations; they will accept comments from interested parties until the end of May.

This has been a hot-button issue in some neighborhoods and towns that try to prevent homeowners from installing antennas and dishes on their houses, claiming that they detract from the appearance of the community.  More than ten years ago the FCC got involved in this dispute, taking the position that the right to receive satellite and over-the-air programming without unreasonable cost or inconvenience trumps local rules... but that hasn't put an end to the wrangling.

For people receiving their television over-the-air, the outcome of this debate will be quite important: many people will probably need to have an outdoor antenna to receive digital TV reliably.

Read more about today's announcement here.

The FCC's existing rules about over-the-air reception devices are here.

-- Jeff