47 U.S.C. § 335 — Direct broadcast satellite service obliga-

Page 187 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 335 review of television broadcast station licensees’ employment practices and to require the Com- mission to inform such licensees of necessary improvements in recruitment practices identi- fied as a consequence of such review. (c) Authority to make technical revisions The Commission may revise the regulations described in subsection (a) to make nonsub- stantive technical or clerical revisions in such regulations as necessary to reflect changes in technology, terminology, or Commission organi- zation. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 334, as added Pub. L. 102–385, § 22(f), Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1499.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 60 days after Oct. 5, 1992, see section 28 of Pub. L. 102–385, set out as an Effective Date of 1992 Amendment note under section 325 of this title. § 335. Direct broadcast satellite service obliga- tions (a) Proceeding required to review DBS respon- sibilities The Commission shall, within 180 days after October 5, 1992, initiate a rulemaking proceeding to impose, on providers of direct broadcast sat- ellite service, public interest or other require- ments for providing video programming. Any regulations prescribed pursuant to such rule- making shall, at a minimum, apply the access to broadcast time requirement of section 312(a)(7) of this title and the use of facilities require- ments of section 315 of this title to providers of direct broadcast satellite service providing video programming. Such proceeding also shall examine the opportunities that the establish- ment of direct broadcast satellite service pro- vides for the principle of localism under this chapter, and the methods by which such prin- ciple may be served through technological and other developments in, or regulation of, such service. (b) Carriage obligations for noncommercial, edu- cational, State public affairs, and informa- tional programming (1) Channel capacity required (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Commission shall require, as a condition of any provision, initial authorization, or authorization renewal for a provider of di- rect broadcast satellite service providing video programming, that the provider of such service reserve a portion of its channel capacity, equal to not less than 4 percent nor more than 7 percent, exclusively for non- commercial programming of an educational or informational nature. (B) Requirement for qualified satellite pro- vider The Commission shall require, as a condi- tion of any provision, initial authorization, or authorization renewal for a qualified sat- ellite provider of direct broadcast satellite service providing video programming, that such provider reserve a portion of its chan- nel capacity, equal to not less than 3.5 per- cent nor more than 7 percent, exclusively for noncommercial programming of an edu- cational or informational nature. (2) Use of unused channel capacity A provider of such service may utilize for any purpose any unused channel capacity re- quired to be reserved under this subsection pending the actual use of such channel capac- ity for noncommercial programming of an educational or informational nature. (3) Prices, terms, and conditions; editorial con- trol A provider of direct broadcast satellite serv- ice shall meet the requirements of this sub- section by making channel capacity available to national educational programming sup- pliers, upon reasonable prices, terms, and con- ditions, as determined by the Commission under paragraph (4). The provider of direct broadcast satellite service shall not exercise any editorial control over any video program- ming provided pursuant to this subsection. (4) Limitations In determining reasonable prices under para- graph (3)— (A) the Commission shall take into ac- count the nonprofit character of the pro- gramming provider and any Federal funds used to support such programming; (B) the Commission shall not permit such prices to exceed, for any channel made avail- able under this subsection, 50 percent of the total direct costs of making such channel available; and (C) in the calculation of total direct costs, the Commission shall exclude— (i) marketing costs, general administra- tive costs, and similar overhead costs of the provider of direct broadcast satellite service; and (ii) the revenue that such provider might have obtained by making such channel available to a commercial provider of video programming. (5) Definitions For purposes of this subsection: (A) The term ‘‘provider of direct broadcast satellite service’’ means— (i) a licensee for a Ku-band satellite sys- tem under part 100 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations; or (ii) any distributor who controls a min- imum number of channels (as specified by Commission regulation) using a Ku-band fixed service satellite system for the provi- sion of video programming directly to the home and licensed under part 25 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (B) The term ‘‘national educational pro- gramming supplier’’ includes any qualified noncommercial educational television sta- tion, other public telecommunications enti- ties, and public or private educational insti- tutions. (C) The term ‘‘qualified satellite provider’’ means any provider of direct broadcast sat- ellite service that— Page 188 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 336 (i) provides the retransmission of the State public affairs networks of at least 15 different States; (ii) offers the programming of State pub- lic affairs networks upon reasonable prices, terms, and conditions as deter- mined by the Commission under paragraph (4); and (iii) does not delete any noncommercial programming of an educational or infor- mational nature in connection with the carriage of a State public affairs network. (D) The term ‘‘State public affairs net- work’’ means a non-commercial non-broad- cast network or a noncommercial edu- cational television station— (i) whose programming consists of infor- mation about State government delibera- tions and public policy events; and (ii) that is operated by— (I) a State government or subdivision thereof; (II) an organization described in sec- tion 501(c)(3) of title 26 that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such title and that is governed by an independent board of directors; or (III) a cable system. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 335, as added Pub. L. 102–385, § 25(a), Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1501; amended Pub. L. 111–175, title II, § 209, May 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 1254.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, known as the Communications Act of 1934, which is classified principally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 609 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2010—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 111–175, § 209(1), inserted ‘‘State public affairs,’’ after ‘‘educational,’’ in heading. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 111–175, § 209(2), added par. (1) and struck out former par. (1). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The Commission shall require, as a condition of any provision, initial authorization, or authorization renewal for a provider of direct broadcast satellite service providing video programming, that the provider of such service reserve a portion of its channel capacity, equal to not less than 4 percent nor more than 7 percent, exclusively for noncommercial pro- gramming of an educational or informational nature.’’ Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 111–175, § 209(3), which directed substitution of ‘‘For purposes of this subsection:’’ for ‘‘For purposes of the subsection—’’, was executed by making the substitution for ‘‘For purposes of this sub- section—’’ in introductory provisions, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Subsec. (b)(5)(C), (D). Pub. L. 111–175, § 209(4), added subpars. (C) and (D). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111–175 effective Feb. 27, 2010, see section 307(a) of Pub. L. 111–175, set out as a note under section 111 of Title 17, Copyrights. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 60 days after Oct. 5, 1992, see section 28 of Pub. L. 102–385, set out as an Effective Date of 1992 Amendment note under section 325 of this title. § 336. Broadcast spectrum flexibility (a) Commission action If the Commission determines to issue addi- tional licenses for advanced television services, the Commission— (1) should limit the initial eligibility for such licenses to persons that, as of the date of such issuance, are licensed to operate a tele- vision broadcast station or hold a permit to construct such a station (or both); and (2) shall adopt regulations that allow the holders of such licenses to offer such ancillary or supplementary services on designated fre- quencies as may be consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity. (b) Contents of regulations In prescribing the regulations required by sub- section (a), the Commission shall— (1) only permit such licensee or permittee to offer ancillary or supplementary services if the use of a designated frequency for such services is consistent with the technology or method designated by the Commission for the provision of advanced television services; (2) limit the broadcasting of ancillary or supplementary services on designated fre- quencies so as to avoid derogation of any ad- vanced television services, including high defi- nition television broadcasts, that the Commis- sion may require using such frequencies; (3) apply to any other ancillary or supple- mentary service such of the Commission’s reg- ulations as are applicable to the offering of analogous services by any other person, except that no ancillary or supplementary service shall have any rights to carriage under section 534 or 535 of this title or be deemed a multi- channel video programming distributor for purposes of section 548 of this title; (4) adopt such technical and other require- ments as may be necessary or appropriate to assure the quality of the signal used to provide advanced television services, and may adopt regulations that stipulate the minimum num- ber of hours per day that such signal must be transmitted; and (5) prescribe such other regulations as may be necessary for the protection of the public interest, convenience, and necessity. (c) Recovery of license If the Commission grants a license for ad- vanced television services to a person that, as of the date of such issuance, is licensed to operate a television broadcast station or holds a permit to construct such a station (or both), the Com- mission shall, as a condition of such license, re- quire that either the additional license or the original license held by the licensee be surren- dered to the Commission for reallocation or re- assignment (or both) pursuant to Commission regulation. (d) Public interest requirement Nothing in this section shall be construed as relieving a television broadcasting station from its obligation to serve the public interest, con- venience, and necessity. In the Commission’s re- view of any application for renewal of a broad- cast license for a television station that pro-