Who can qualify as an institutional user?
Under Sections 611(b) and 621(b)(3)(D) of the federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended, a franchising authority may condition of the initial grant, renewal or transfer of a franchise on a cable operator’s agreement to designate channel capacity on an institutional network “for educational or governmental use.” This language does not limit potential users of I-Nets to units of government and schools, and the legislative history indicates that Congress contemplated that libraries, hospitals and even businesses could become users of I-Nets. In practice, however, I-Nets are generally available only to governmental and educational entities, including regional entities. A few jurisdictions make their I-Nets available to non-profit or government-supported entities. Notably, in some of its new proposals, AT&T Broadband and Internet Services reserves the right to make I-Nets available to commercial users.
