§  27.1201   EBS eligibility.

   (a) A license for an Educational Broadband Service station will be
   issued only to an accredited institution or to a governmental
   organization engaged in the formal education of enrolled students or to
   a nonprofit organization whose purposes are educational and include
   providing educational and instructional television material to such
   accredited institutions and governmental organizations, and which is
   otherwise qualified under the statutory provisions of the
   Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

   (1) A publicly supported educational institution must be accredited by
   the appropriate State department of education.

   (2) A privately controlled educational institution must be accredited
   by the appropriate State department of education or the recognized
   regional and national accrediting organizations.

   (3) Those applicant organizations whose eligibility is established by
   service to accredited institutional or governmental organizations must
   submit documentation from proposed receive sites demonstrating that
   they will receive and use the applicant's educational usage. In place
   of this documentation, a State educational television (ETV) commission
   may demonstrate that the public schools it proposes to serve are
   required to use its proposed educational usage. Documentation from
   proposed receive sites which are to establish the eligibility of an
   entity not serving its own enrolled students for credit should be in
   letter form, written and signed by an administrator or authority who is
   responsible for the receive site's curriculum planning. No receive site
   more than 35 miles from the proposed station's central reference point,
   or outside the applicants' proposed GSA, shall be used to establish
   basic eligibility. Where broadband or data services are proposed, the
   letter should indicate that the data services will be used in
   furtherance of the institution's educational mission and will be
   provided to enrolled students, faculty and staff in a manner and in a
   setting conducive to educational usage. Where traditional educational
   or instructional video services are proposed, the letter should
   indicate that the applicant's program offerings have been viewed and
   that such programming will be incorporated in the site's curriculum.
   Where educational or instructional video services are proposed, the
   letter should discuss the types of programming and hours per week of
   formal and informal programming expected to be used and the site's
   involvement in the planning, scheduling and production of programming.
   If other levels of authority must be obtained before a firm commitment
   to utilize the service can be made, the nature and extent of such
   additional authorization(s) must be provided.

   (4) Nonlocal applicants, in addition to submitting letters from
   proposed receive sites, must demonstrate the establishment of a local
   program committee in each community where they apply. Letters submitted
   on behalf of a nonlocal entity must confirm that a member of the
   receive site's staff will serve on the local program committee and
   demonstrate a recognition of the composition and power of the
   committee. The letter should show that the staff member will aid in the
   selection, scheduling and production of the programming received over
   the system.

   (b) No numerical limit is placed on the number of stations which may be
   licensed to a single licensee. A single license may be issued for more
   than one transmitter if they are to be located at a common site and
   operated by the same licensee. Applicants are expected to accomplish
   the proposed operation by the use of the smallest number of channels
   required to provide the needed service.

   (c) [Reserved]

   (d) This paragraph applies to EBS licensees and applications licensed
   or filed pursuant to the provisions of §  27.1201(c) contained in the
   edition of 47 CFR parts 20 through 39, revised as of October 1, 2005,
   or § §  74.990 through 74.992 contained in the edition of 47 CFR parts
   70 through 79, revised as of October 1, 2004, and that do not meet the
   eligibility requirements of paragraph (a) of this section. Such
   licensees may continue to operate pursuant to the terms of their
   existing licenses, and their licenses may be renewed, assigned, or
   transferred, so long as the licensee is otherwise in compliance with
   this chapter. Applications filed pursuant to the provisions of
   §  27.1201(c) contained in the edition of 47 CFR parts 20 through 39,
   revised as of October 1, 2005 or § §  74.990 through 74.992 contained
   in the edition of 47 CFR parts 70 through 79, revised as of October 1,
   2004 may be processed and granted, so long as such applications were
   filed prior to July 19, 2006. The provisions of § §  27.1203(b) through
   (d) and 27.1214 of this subpart do not apply to licenses governed by
   this paragraph.

   [ 69 FR 72034 , Dec. 10, 2004, as amended at  71 FR 35190 , June 19, 2006;
    73 FR 26040 , May 8, 2008]

   return arrow Back to Top