(b) MIDTERM REVIEW.-The Commission shall revise the regulations described in subsection (a) to require a midterm review of television broadcast station licensees' employment practices and to require the Commission to inform such licensees of necessary improvements in recruitment practices identified as a consequence of such review.

(c) AUTHORITY TO MAKE TECHNICAL REVISIONS.-The Commission may revise the regulations described in subsection (a) to make nonsubstantive technical or clerical revisions in such regulations as necessary to reflect changes in technology, terminology, or Commission organization.

SEC. 335. [47 U.C.S. 335] DIRECT BROADCAST SATELLITE SERVICE OBLIGATIONS.

(a) PROCEEDING REQUIRED TO REVIEW DBS RESPONSIBILITIES.-The Commission shall, within 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, initiate a rulemaking proceeding to impose, on providers of direct broadcast satellite service, public interest or other requirements for providing video programming. Any regulations prescribed pursuant to such rulemaking shall, at a minimum, apply the access to broadcast time requirement of section 312(a)(7) and the use of facilities requirements of section 315 to providers of direct broadcast satellite service providing video programming. Such proceeding also shall examine the opportunities that the establishment of direct broadcast satellite service provides for the principle of localism under this Act, and the methods by which such principle may be served through technological and other developments in, or regulation of, such service.

NONCOMMERCIAL, EDU

(b) CARRIAGE OBLIGATIONS FOR CATIONAL, AND INFORMATIONAL PROGRAMMING.–

(1) CHANNEL CAPACITY REQUIRED.-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 programming of an educational or informational nature.

(2) USE OF UNUSED CHANNEL CAPACITY.-A provider of such service may utilize for any purpose any unused channel capacity required to be reserved under this subsection pending the actual use of such channel capacity for noncommercial programming of an educational or informational nature.

(3) PRICES, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS; EDITORIAL CONTROL.A provider of direct broadcast satellite service shall meet the requirements of this subsection by making channel capacity available to national educational programming suppliers, upon reasonable prices, terms, and conditions, as determined by the Commission under paragraph (4). The provider of direct broadcast satellite service shall not exercise any editorial control over any video programming provided pursuant to this subsection.

(4) LIMITATIONS.-In determining reasonable prices under paragraph (3)—

(A) the Commission shall take into account the nonprofit character of the programming provider and any Federal funds used to support such programming;

(B) the Commission shall not permit such prices to exceed, for any channel made available 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 administrative 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 system under part 100 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations;

or

(ii) any distributor who controls a minimum number of channels (as specified by Commission regulation) using a Ku-band fixed service satellite system for the provision 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 programming supplier" includes any qualified noncommercial educational television station, other public telecommunications entities, and public or private educational institutions.

SEC. 336. [47 U.S.C. 336] BROADCAST SPECTRUM FLEXIBILITY. 1

(a) COMMISSION ACTION.-If the Commission determines to issue additional licenses for advanced television services, the Commission

1Section 531 of the Public Health, Security, and Bioterrorism Response Act of 2001 (PL 107188) provided for additional advanced television channel assignments as follows:

SEC. 531. [47 U.S.C. 336 note] TRANSITION TO DIGITAL TELEVISION.

(a) PAIR ASSIGNMENT REQUIRED.—In order to further promote the orderly transition to digital television, and to promote the equitable allocation and use of digital channels by television broadcast permittees and licensees, the Federal Communications Commission, at the request of an eligible licensee or permittee, shall, within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, allot, if necessary, and assign a paired digital television channel to that licensee or permittee, provided that

(1) such channel can be allotted and assigned without further modification of the tables of allotments as set forth in sections 73.606 and 73.622 of the Commission's regulations (47 CFR 73.606, 73.622); and

(2) such allotment and assignment is otherwise consistent with the Commission's rules (47 CFR part 73).

(b) ELIGIBLE TRANSITION LICENSEE OR PERMITTEE.-For purposes of subsection (a), the term "eligible licensee or permittee” means only a full power television broadcast licensee or permittee (or its successor in interest) that

(1) had an application pending for an analog television station construction permit as of October 24, 1991, which application was granted after April 3, 1997; and

(2) as of the date of enactment of this Act, is the permittee or licensee of that station. (c) REQUIREMENTS ON LICENSEE OR PERMITTEE.—

(1) CONSTRUCTION DEADLINE.-Any licensee or permittee receiving a paired digital channel pursuant to this section

(1) should limit the initial eligibility for such licenses to persons that, as of the date of such issuance, are licensed to operate a television 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 frequencies as may be consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity.

(b) CONTENTS OF REGULATIONS.-In prescribing the regulations required by subsection (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 frequencies so as to avoid derogation of any advanced television services, including high definition television broadcasts, that the Commission may require using such frequencies;

(3) apply to any other ancillary or supplementary service such of the Commission's regulations 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 614 or 615 or be deemed a multichannel video programming distributor for purposes of section 628;

(4) adopt such technical and other requirements 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 number 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 advanced 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 Commission shall, as a condition of such license, require that either the additional license or the original license held by the licensee be surrendered to the Commission for reallocation or reassignment (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, convenience, and ne

(A) shall be required to construct the digital television broadcast facility within 18 months of the date on which the Federal Communications Commission issues a construction permit therefore, and

(B) shall be prohibited from obtaining or receiving an extension of time from the Commission beyond the construction deadline established by paragraph (1).

(2) PROHIBITION OF ANALOG OPERATION USING DIGITAL PAIR.—Any licensee or permittee receiving a paired digital channel pursuant to this section shall be prohibited from giving up its current paired analog assignment and becoming a single-channel broadcaster and operating in analog on such paired digital channel.

(d) RELIEF RESTRICTED.-Any paired digital allotment and assignment made under this section shall not be available to any other applicant unless such applicant is an eligible licensee or permittee within the meaning of subsection (b).

cessity. In the Commission's review of any application for renewal of a broadcast license for a television station that provides ancillary or supplementary services, the television licensee shall establish that all of its program services on the existing or advanced television spectrum are in the public interest. Any violation of the Commission rules applicable to ancillary or supplementary services shall reflect upon the licensee's qualifications for renewal of its li

cense.

(e) FEES.

(1) SERVICES TO WHICH FEES APPLY.-If the regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) permit a licensee to offer ancillary or supplementary services on a designated frequency

(A) for which the payment of a subscription fee is required in order to receive such services, or

(B) for which the licensee directly or indirectly receives compensation from a third party in return for transmitting material furnished by such third party (other than commercial advertisements used to support broadcasting for which a subscription fee is not required),

the Commission shall establish a program to assess and collect from the licensee for such designated frequency an annual fee or other schedule or method of payment that promotes the objectives described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2).

(2) COLLECTION OF FEES.-The program required by paragraph (1) shall

(A) be designed (i) to recover for the public a portion of the value of the public spectrum resource made available for such commercial use, and (ii) to avoid unjust enrichment through the method employed to permit such uses of that resource;

(B) recover for the public an amount that, to the extent feasible, equals but does not exceed (over the term of the license) the amount that would have been recovered had such services been licensed pursuant to the provisions of section 309(j) of this Act and the Commission's regulations thereunder; and

(C) be adjusted by the Commission from time to time in order to continue to comply with the requirements of this paragraph.

(3) TREATMENT OF REVENUES.

(A) GENERAL RULE.-Except as provided in subparagraph (B), all proceeds obtained pursuant to the regulations required by this subsection shall be deposited in the Treasury in accordance with chapter 33 of title 31, United States Code.

(B) RETENTION OF REVENUES.-Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the salaries and expenses account of the Commission shall retain as an offsetting collection such sums as may be necessary from such proceeds for the costs of developing and implementing the program required by this section and regulating and supervising advanced television services. Such offsetting collections shall be available for obligation subject to the terms and conditions of

the receiving appropriations account, and shall be deposited in such accounts on a quarterly basis.

(4) REPORT.-Within 5 years after the date of enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Commission shall report to the Congress on the implementation of the program required by this subsection, and shall annually thereafter advise the Congress on the amounts collected pursuant to such program. (f) PRESERVATION OF LOW-POWER COMMUNITY TELEVISION BROADCASTING.

(1) CREATION OF CLASS A LICENSES.

(A) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.-Within 120 days after the date of the enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999, the Commission shall prescribe regulations to establish a class A television license to be available to licensees of qualifying low-power television stations. Such regulations shall provide that

(i) the license shall be subject to the same license terms and renewal standards as the licenses for fullpower television stations except as provided in this subsection; and

(ii) each such class A licensee shall be accorded primary status as a television broadcaster as long as the station continues to meet the requirements for a qualifying low-power station in paragraph (2).

(B) NOTICE TO AND CERTIFICATION BY LICENSEES.Within 30 days after the date of the enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999, the Commission shall send a notice to the licensees of all lowpower televisions licenses that describes the requirements for class A designation. Within 60 days after such date of enactment, licensees intending to seek class A designation shall submit to the Commission a certification of eligibility based on the qualification requirements of this subsection. Absent a material deficiency, the Commission shall grant certification of eligibility to apply for class A status.

(C) APPLICATION FOR AND AWARD OF LICENSES.-Consistent with the requirements set forth in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection, a licensee may submit an application for class A designation under this paragraph within 30 days after final regulations are adopted under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. Except as provided in paragraphs (6) and (7), the Commission shall, within 30 days after receipt of an application of a licensee of a qualifying low-power television station that is acceptable for filing, award such a class A television station license to such licensee.

(D) RESOLUTION OF TECHNICAL PROBLEMS.-The Commission shall act to preserve the service areas of low-power television licensees pending the final resolution of a class A application. If, after granting certification of eligibility for a class A license, technical problems arise requiring an engineering solution to a full-power station's allotted parameters or channel assignment in the digital television Table of Allotments, the Commission shall make such modifications as necessary—