Instructional Television Fixed Service
Encyclopedia
The Educational Broadband Service (EBS) was formerly known as the Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS). ITFS was a band of twenty (20) microwave
channels available to be licensed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to local credit granting educational institutions. It was designed to serve as a means for educational institutions to deliver live or pre-recorded Instructional television
to multiple sites within school district
s and to higher education
branch campuses. In recognition of the variety and quantity of video
materials required to support instruction at numerous grade levels and in a range of subjects, licensees were typically granted a group of four channels. Its low capital and operating costs as compared to broadcast television, technical quality that compared favorably with broadcast television, and its multi-channel per licensees feature made ITFS an extremely cost effective vehicle for the delivery of Educational television
materials.
The FCC changed the name of this service to the Educational Broadband Service (EBS) and changed the allocation so each licensee would not have four 6 MHz wide channels but instead would have one 6 MHz channel and one 15 MHz wide "channel" (three contiguous 5 MHz channels). There are currently several hundred EBS systems in operation delivering schedules of live and pre-recorded instruction.
technology. Typical installations included up to four transmitters multiplexed
through a single broadcast antenna
with directional receive antennas at each receive site. Receive site installations included equipment to down convert the microwave channels for viewing on standard television receivers. In typical installations, the down converted ITFS signals were distributed to classrooms over multi-channel closed-circuit television
systems.
So, primarily in large markets, subscription premium television such as HBO, Showtime, The Movie Channel
and others could be transmitted over these same microwave stations beginning at 4 PM when school was out, and continuing throughout the evening, sometimes until the wee hours. In those days, pay-TV did not broadcast during the day, so there was no interference between one type of television program
ming and the next.
Only after ITFS had migrated to other formats did the daytime hours of the service become available to subscription television providers which filled the hours with programming such as the five-hour-long children's show Pinwheel (TV series)
airing weekday mornings on Nickelodeon
or long blocks of international cartoons for which the rights thereto remained in the pennies per subscriber throughout the run of the technology.
As the services were sent to the engineering building of the school district for re-distribution, yes, for a number of years, school janitors, maintenance men and the like were paid to watch movies all night long after doing their work within the first couple hours.
As said engineers also had to have multiple VCR's ready to capture instructional programming meant for the next school day which were broadcast between 1 AM and 7 AM weekday mornings, of course when the commercial broadcasting
stations broadcast their movies, they used the same VCR's to record those for themselves as well before using them to record the school's programs for later rebroadcast over the ITFS.
Using ITFS excess capacity and up to thirteen channels in the companion commercial service, the Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service
(MMDS), a number of telecommunications companies built wireless cable systems. The number of available channels, however, proved to be insufficient to compete effectively with the expanding channel capacity of cable TV.
ITFS and MMDS licensees then sought FCC authorization to employ digital compression technology, which would substantively increase the number of program streams that could be carried on the channels of the combined ITFS and MMDS spectrum.
The expanded programming capacity provided by digital video compression encouraged a number of commercial entities to create wireless entertainment video systems. These systems found, however, that the additional programming capability was not sufficient to overcome the line-of-sight handicap and the associated higher cost for customer installations. It was clear that while video distribution was a viable educational service for ITFS, commercial video services could not be widely successful in the ITFS/Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) spectrum.
(Third Generation) cell phone technology. In 2001, the FCC ruled to preserve the ITFS spectrum for education and further modified the rules to authorize the use of the spectrum in mobile operations and voice communications.
These changes in rule and the rising demand for broadband communications led to several commercial tests of combined ITFS/MMDS digital systems designed for two-way data distribution. It was believed that these wireless systems could provide a high-speed data connection that would compete effectively with DSL and cable modem services in providing access to the Internet. Such systems would also have the capacity to distribute video and voice in the form of data. These tests were, subsequently, halted as it became apparent that the existing technology and cost structures could not sustain commercial operations.
During the same period a new technology, Non-line-of-sight (NLOS), was in development and testing by a number of technology companies. NLOS showed promise of overcoming the obstacles of line-of-sight and high customer installation costs that had handicapped ITFS/MMDS operations. That improvement, however, was not judged to be sufficient to ensure that a combined ITFS/MMDS digital service could satisfy the needs of education, as well as providing technology sufficiently robust to be commercially viable.
's Clearwire
Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) leased ITFS from the non-profit Broadcast license
holder in many US cities.
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
channels available to be licensed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, 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 Instructional television
Instructional television
Instructional television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. Educational television programs on instructional television may be less than one half hour long to help their integration into the classroom setting...
to multiple sites within school district
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
s and to higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
branch campuses. In recognition of the variety and quantity of video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
materials required to support instruction at numerous grade levels and in a range of subjects, licensees were typically granted a group of four channels. Its low capital and operating costs as compared to broadcast television, technical quality that compared favorably with broadcast television, and its multi-channel per licensees feature made ITFS an extremely cost effective vehicle for the delivery of Educational television
Educational television
Educational television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable television in the United States as Public, educational, and government access ...
materials.
The FCC changed the name of this service to the Educational Broadband Service (EBS) and changed the allocation so each licensee would not have four 6 MHz wide channels but instead would have one 6 MHz channel and one 15 MHz wide "channel" (three contiguous 5 MHz channels). There are currently several hundred EBS systems in operation delivering schedules of live and pre-recorded instruction.
Initial FCC authorization
The FCC initially authorized ITFS, in 1963, to operate using a one-way, analog, line-of-sightLine-of-sight propagation
Line-of-sight propagation refers to electro-magnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions traveling in a straight line...
technology. Typical installations included up to four transmitters multiplexed
Multiplexing
The multiplexed signal is transmitted over a communication channel, which may be a physical transmission medium. The multiplexing divides the capacity of the low-level communication channel into several higher-level logical channels, one for each message signal or data stream to be transferred...
through a single broadcast antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
with directional receive antennas at each receive site. Receive site installations included equipment to down convert the microwave channels for viewing on standard television receivers. In typical installations, the down converted ITFS signals were distributed to classrooms over multi-channel closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
systems.
FCC allows leasing
In the late 1970s the FCC recognized that many ITFS licensees lacked the technical expertise and/or the financial means to make more effective use of ITFS. Subsequently, the FCC authorized ITFS licensees to lease a portion of their spectrum, designated as “Excess Capacity," for commercial use, meaning ITFS licensees were required to retain forty hours per week per channel for daytime instruction with the excess nighttime hours available for commercial use in exchange for technical and financial support for their instructional service.So, primarily in large markets, subscription premium television such as HBO, Showtime, The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel is an American premium channel owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which shows mostly movies, as well as special behind-the-scenes features, softcore adult erotica and movie trivia....
and others could be transmitted over these same microwave stations beginning at 4 PM when school was out, and continuing throughout the evening, sometimes until the wee hours. In those days, pay-TV did not broadcast during the day, so there was no interference between one type of television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
ming and the next.
Only after ITFS had migrated to other formats did the daytime hours of the service become available to subscription television providers which filled the hours with programming such as the five-hour-long children's show Pinwheel (TV series)
Pinwheel (TV series)
-External links:*...
airing weekday mornings on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
or long blocks of international cartoons for which the rights thereto remained in the pennies per subscriber throughout the run of the technology.
As the services were sent to the engineering building of the school district for re-distribution, yes, for a number of years, school janitors, maintenance men and the like were paid to watch movies all night long after doing their work within the first couple hours.
As said engineers also had to have multiple VCR's ready to capture instructional programming meant for the next school day which were broadcast between 1 AM and 7 AM weekday mornings, of course when the commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
stations broadcast their movies, they used the same VCR's to record those for themselves as well before using them to record the school's programs for later rebroadcast over the ITFS.
Using ITFS excess capacity and up to thirteen channels in the companion commercial service, the Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service
Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service
Broadband Radio Service formerly known as Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service , also known as Wireless Cable, is a wireless telecommunications technology, used for general-purpose broadband networking or, more commonly, as an alternative method of cable television programming reception...
(MMDS), a number of telecommunications companies built wireless cable systems. The number of available channels, however, proved to be insufficient to compete effectively with the expanding channel capacity of cable TV.
ITFS and MMDS licensees then sought FCC authorization to employ digital compression technology, which would substantively increase the number of program streams that could be carried on the channels of the combined ITFS and MMDS spectrum.
Two-way operation added
In 1998, the FCC approved the use of digital compression in ITFS. At the time digital compression technology was expected to expand the number of program steams by a ratio of 4 to 1 or more. The FCC also authorized both cellular and two-way operations in the ITFS/MMDS services and the potential for ITFS to be used for the distribution of data, as well as video. In the same rule, the FCC reduced the capacity that educational licensees were required to retain for instruction from forty hours per week per channel to 5% of channel capacity. In permitting two-way operations the FCC created the first potential for a substantial use of instructional materials that rely on interaction between the instructional program and learners.The expanded programming capacity provided by digital video compression encouraged a number of commercial entities to create wireless entertainment video systems. These systems found, however, that the additional programming capability was not sufficient to overcome the line-of-sight handicap and the associated higher cost for customer installations. It was clear that while video distribution was a viable educational service for ITFS, commercial video services could not be widely successful in the ITFS/Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) spectrum.
Telecommunications interest in ITFS spectrum
In 1999, telecommunication interests associated with the cell phone industry sought to obtain FCC approval for the transfer of portions of the ITFS spectrum from educational use to support a proposed 3G3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
(Third Generation) cell phone technology. In 2001, the FCC ruled to preserve the ITFS spectrum for education and further modified the rules to authorize the use of the spectrum in mobile operations and voice communications.
These changes in rule and the rising demand for broadband communications led to several commercial tests of combined ITFS/MMDS digital systems designed for two-way data distribution. It was believed that these wireless systems could provide a high-speed data connection that would compete effectively with DSL and cable modem services in providing access to the Internet. Such systems would also have the capacity to distribute video and voice in the form of data. These tests were, subsequently, halted as it became apparent that the existing technology and cost structures could not sustain commercial operations.
During the same period a new technology, Non-line-of-sight (NLOS), was in development and testing by a number of technology companies. NLOS showed promise of overcoming the obstacles of line-of-sight and high customer installation costs that had handicapped ITFS/MMDS operations. That improvement, however, was not judged to be sufficient to ensure that a combined ITFS/MMDS digital service could satisfy the needs of education, as well as providing technology sufficiently robust to be commercially viable.
FCC approves wireless networking uses
In 2003 the National ITFS Association, the Catholic Television Network, and the Wireless Communications Association filed a joint proposal with the FCC to reformat the ITFS/MMDS spectrum and to provide rules, which would support widespread development of a wireless broadband service in the ITFS/MMDS spectrum.WISPs using ITFS
Cellular phone pioneer Craig McCawCraig McCaw
Craig McCaw is a Seattle-area businessman and entrepreneur who achieved success as a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular and Clearwire Corporation.-Early life and cable TV beginnings:Craig is the second of four sons of Marion and John Elroy McCaw...
's Clearwire
Clearwire
Clearwire Corporation is a wireless internet service provider serving markets in the United States, Belgium, and Spain...
Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) leased ITFS from the non-profit Broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
holder in many US cities.
See also
- Agency for Instructional TechnologyAgency for Instructional TechnologyThe Agency for Instructional Technology is a non-profit organization in the United States that produces, sells and distributes educational and instructional television programs, and other multimedia materials, to schools in the United States and Canada....
- Cable in the ClassroomCable in the ClassroomCable in the Classroom is an American organization that assists the cable television industry in providing educational content to schools. The organization was founded in 1989...
- Educational televisionEducational televisionEducational television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable television in the United States as Public, educational, and government access ...
- Instructional televisionInstructional televisionInstructional television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. Educational television programs on instructional television may be less than one half hour long to help their integration into the classroom setting...
- National Association of Educational BroadcastersNational Association of Educational BroadcastersThe National Association of Educational Broadcasters was founded as the Association of College University Broadcasting Stations on November 12, 1925....
- Non-commercial educationalNon-commercial educationalThe term non-commercial educational applies to a radio station or TV station that does not accept on air advertisements , as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission . NCE stations do not pay broadcast license fees for their non-profit uses of the radio spectrum...
External links
- National Educational Broadband Services (EBS) Organization (formerly the National ITFS Association)