What is EBS?

BACKGROUND
The Educational Broadband Service (EBS) is the program formerly known as Instructional Television Fixed Service. EBS is a band of twenty (20) microwave channels available to be licensed by the FCC to local credit granting educational institutions. It was designed to serve as a means for educational institutions to deliver live or pre-recorded video instruction to multiple sites within school districts and to higher education branch campuses. In the 1960s, the FCC set aside spectrum for use by schools and universities. The original uses were one-way radio or video transmission. In the 1980’s the FCC began permitting schools to lease the excess spectrum in their licenses to Multichannel Distribution Services, MDS, or commercial interests, such as Sprint, for their use.  These leases are sweetheart deals, providing license holders with revenue and access for expanding technology infrastructure.

APPLICATION
The specific spectrum frequency in EBS licenses has become increasingly valuable as technology changes: technology has expanded and the capability to provide broadband wireless and high-speed data transmission on this specific spectrum has grown. Current license holders use their spectrum for a variety of services, from in-service training for teacher to providing classroom instruction. A popular trend has been for license holders to lease their unused spectrum. The leasing of unused spectrum is a sweetheart deal for the license holders: they are able to generate revenue from their lease and the contracts often include the lessee building out the technology infrastructure in the school/community.

Why is this an issue?

Telecom companies (such as Clearwire/Sprint) are interested in using the EBS spectrum to provide WiMax [WiMax is essentially universal wireless internet through a paid monthly plan; think of a cell phone plan, but for internet].  Additionally, current licenses are coming up for renewal and the FCC hasn’t granted new licenses over the last 12 years, resulting in a ‘surplus’ of sorts of available spectrum licenses. 

Telecom companies are interested in offering WiMax and other 3G services on the EBS frequencies they currently lease from schools. Earlier this spring, the FCC proposed regulatory changes to the EBS spectrum that may impact the ability of school districts to obtain the licenses, including consideration of the possibility of awarding the licenses through auctions. It raises a handful of questions, from whether schools can participate in auctions to who gets the licenses, what the licenses would look like and how the licenses would be allocated. How the FCC resolves these issues will impact the benefits that school derive from EBS licenses.

The proposed changes boil down to three general questions:

• WHO gets the licenses? Should they be maintained solely for education groups? Should the FCC expand the ability of entities to obtain licenses?
• WHAT should the licenses look like? Should entities be able to form consortia? How much area should a single license cover? Should licenses be allocated at the state level/business market level/national consortia level? Can remote entities own part of the spectrum as part of a larger collaboration?
• HOW should the licenses be allocated? Through the standard application process? Should there be an auction process? Can schools participate in the auction process?

What is WiMax?

WiMax is a wireless broadband technology, like WiFi, but it provides services over much greater distances. It can cover a radius of 30 miles rather than 300 feet. WiMax can be thought of as a cellular service for computers, offering speeds equivalent to cable modems and DSL. The technology can be used for internet access from fixed locations (home and office)as well as portable devices like laptops and iPhones of the future.  

Intel has started building WiMax capabilities into mobile chipsets, just as they now have WiFi capability. New laptops will be both WiFi and WiMax ready. Unlike WiFi, WiMax business models contemplate a subscription service similar to cellular.

Two major telecom companies (Sprint and Clearwire) are interested in offering WiMax on EBS frequencies leased from schools and other license holders. FCC rules require that such leases reserve 5% of system capacity for license holders’ educational mission, but the commercial entities are otherwise free to use the system as they see fit. For this reason, EBS’ primary benefit to education is a financial one.

Why are local governments involved in WiMax?

The large amount of spectrum (120 MHz) reserved for schools and educational non profits (EBS) is currently leased from the license holders to telecommunications corporations, who plan to use the same frequencies to provide WiMax.

Why is this spectrum suddenly so valuable?

The specific bandwidth of the EBS licenses is a perfect vehicle for telecom companies to develop and distribute the newest 3G technology, including WiMax.

What did the FCC propose?

The FCC proposed regulatory changes to the EBS spectrum that may impact the ability of school districts to obtain the licenses, including consideration of the possibility of awarding the licenses through auctions. It raises a handful of questions, from whether schools can participate in auctions to who gets the licenses, what the licenses would look like and how the licenses would be allocated.

How would it impact my school?

If your district holds a current ‘active’ license, the proposed changes would have little direct impact on your ability to hold that license. That being said, your feedback and testimony of your district’s benefits from the EBS license and sub-leasing are valuable in demonstrating how the program continues to benefit schools, as was the intent of the original program when it was created in the 1960s.

Why the call for auctions?

The NPRM asks whether the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which counted on revenues from FCC auctions to balance the budget, requires the FCC to use auctions for the award of all types of licenses, including EBS. Obviously, educators should say no. An auction necessarily will take money that might otherwise go to educators in the form of lease payments and give that money to the U.S. Treasury as an auction payment. There are two arguments against an auction. First is the policy argument that the FCC has, since the 1960s, viewed ITFS and EBS as ways to subsidize education and that therefore it makes no sense for the U.S. government now to take a cut of that subsidy. Second, and more important, is the legal argument that the Balanced Budget Act only requires the FCC to hold an auction if it is to choose among competing applicants for licenses. The licensing scheme described below does not involve a competitive process for awarding licenses. Hence, the Balanced Budget Act doesn’t apply and the licenses may be awarded without an auction.

Who gets the licenses? How should the licenses be allocated? What would the licenses look like?

The NPRM asks how future licenses should be issued. Current rules give licensees the right to operate within a radius of 35 miles of a transmitter. This is known as the "geographic service area" or "GSA." It obviously makes little sense to try to build a national WiMax network by drawing little GSA circles all over a map. The FCC has suggested instead to award licenses on the basis of Basic Trading Areas (BTA). The United States is carved up into 493 BTAs. BTAs are not the way to go. Since EBS applicants will for the most part be government entities, e.g., public schools and state colleges, it would be better to divide the country according to political jurisdictions, such as counties, states, or regions, rather than according to economic jurisdictions such as BTAs.

The NPRM asks whether a competitive process should be used to award licenses with an auction being the legally required for a competitive process. It doesn’t take much reflection to realize that a competitive approach to the award of EBS licenses is problematic. The competitors will simply be different public school systems, community colleges, universities, etc. How can the FCC decide, whether by rule, adjudication, or auction, which of these applicants should hold the license? The schools’ answer should be that all eligible educational institutions within a political jurisdiction, e.g., a state or region, should be permitted to hold EBS licenses collectively. That is, schools should be allowed to form consortia or umbrella organizations that will hold licenses as trustees for the educators. This would give the commercial interests a single entity with which to negotiate and lead to expeditious build out of WiMax. The FCC would only have to set basic some basic rules for formation of such consortia.

Why am I involved?

Based on an analysis of the AASA membership database and the roster of license holders from the FCC, your district is—or at one point was—a license holder.  As such, your district will be impacted by these changes and we need your input to make sure we’re representing your interests!

The legislative committee of the AASA executive was included so as to garner their feedback and input as to the legislative priority and policy guidance in responding to the proposed changes.

What is the NRPM process?

A notice of proposed rulemaking or NPRM is issued by law when a regulatory agency of the United States Federal Government wishes to add, remove, or change a rule (or regulation) as part of the rulemaking process. NPRM procedure is required and defined by the Administrative Procedure Act. Congress created the requirement to force agencies to listen to comments and concerns of people who the regulation will likely affect. The FAA, FCC, NTIA, and EPA are examples of agencies subject to these procedures. The NPRM is published in the Federal Register and typically gives 60 days for public comment from any interested party, and an additional 30 days for reply comments. Original comments may still be filed in the reply comments window.

What is AASA doing on this issue?

AASA has met with the consultant we used on the previous EBS rulemakings as well as with a host of other education organizations to gauge their interest and positioning. AASA has emerged as the defacto leader of the group, and the education groups seem in line with the AASA position (yet to be clarified dependent upon member feedback).

What does AASA plan to submit for comments?

This is not determined yet. That is the purpose of these calls, to get feedback from our members to make sure that the comments we submit represent your interests.

How are other education organizations responding?

I met preliminarily with NSBA, NEA, AFT, NSBO, NAIS, NREA, ESEA, and a few other groups (as a whole) to discuss the proposed changes and a strategy.

Where/how can I confirm if my district has ever held a license?
How do I find out if there is available spectrum in my area?
How do I find out who holds the available licenses in my area?

Information about who holds EBS licenses in a given city can be found in the FCC database located online at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/General_Menu_Reports/license_search.cfm Eligibility for these licenses is limited to ‘an accredited institution or to a governmental organization engaged in the formal education of enrolled students of to a nonprofit organization whose purposes are educational.

Do I need to be involved if I hold an active license that was recently renewed?

Yes. Your testimony and feedback as to the benefits your district derives from the license and/or the revenues from leasing the license can help build our case for maintaining the education focus of EBS spectrum.

If my school district has already signed on to support telecom comments on the reg, is it too late?

No. Your testimony and feedback as to the benefits your district derives from the license and/or the revenues from leasing the license can help build our case for maintaining the education focus of EBS spectrum.

Whom do I contact with additional questions?

Noelle Ellerson (nellerson@aasa.org)
Policy Analyst, AASA