EBS Geographic Service Areas
Transforming education and fostering digital equity nationwide
What are EBS Geographic Service Areas?
At Views on Learning (VOL), we believe that location shouldn’t limit a student’s access to educational opportunities. That’s why we focus our efforts on 23 strategically located Educational Broadband Service (EBS) regions across the United States.
These designated areas represent a 35-mile radius around our service points. Within these zones, accredited educational institutions — public, private, and charter schools — are eligible to participate in VOL’s programs and benefit from our commitment to bridging the digital divide.
How are the EBS Geographic Service Areas determined?
The EBS was formerly known as the Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS). Originally, ITFS stations were licensed to transmit video signals from a single site to specific receive locations. New stations could be licensed on the same or adjacent channels, as long as they didn’t interfere with existing stations.
In 2005, the EBS introduced geographic area licenses, defining each station’s Geographic Service Area (GSA) as a 35-mile radius from its reference point. This allowed more flexibility, permitting the operation of transmitters anywhere within the GSA without approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as long as technical requirements were met to prevent interference.
However, as many stations were within 70 miles of each other, the 35-mile GSAs tended to overlap. To address this, the FCC created exclusive GSAs by dividing overlapping areas among the affected stations.
Explore our 23 EBS Geographic Service Areas
VOL’s impact spans 23 national EBS GSAs, strategically selected to address educational disparities and enable accredited institutions to thrive.
VOL services for EBS Geographic Service Areas accredited institutions
VOL offers a variety of resources to empower students, teachers, and schools within our EBS service areas, including:
Educational Grants
Annually, we award grants of up to $250,000 to support innovative technology projects to schools within our EBS service areas. These grants can be used to procure classroom devices or fund students’ participation in robotics and other STEM programs.
Interactive Connectivity
By providing educational institutions access to a fixed number of Zoom® licenses, we break down geographical barriers and empower students and educators to engage in a truly connected learning experience.
Wireless Internet Access
Through a collaborative effort with T-Mobile®, we are able to provide wireless internet devices to schools in our EBS zones, helping to close the digital gap and ensure students have the tools they need to succeed.
