Sec. 73.646  Telecommunications Service on the Vertical Blanking 
          Interval and in the Visual Signal.

    (a) Telecommunications services permitted on the vertical blanking 
interval (VBI) and in the visual signal include the transmission of 
data, processed information, or any other communication in either a 
digital or analog mode.
    (b) Telecommunications service on the VBI and in the visual signal 
is of an ancillary nature and as such is an elective, subsidiary 
activity. No service guidelines, limitations, or performance standards 
are applied to it. The kinds of service that may be provided include, 
but are not limited to, teletext, paging, computer software and bulk 
data distribution, and aural messages. Such services may be provided on 
a broadcast, point-to-point, or point to multipoint basis.
    (c) Telecommunications services that are common carrier in nature 
are subject to common carrier regulation. Licensees operating such 
services are required to apply to the Commission for the appropriate 
authorization and to comply with all policies and rules applicable to 
the particular service.
    (d) Television licensees are authorized to lease their VBI and 
visual signal telecommunications facilities to outside parties. In all 
arrangements entered into with outside parties affecting 
telecommunications service operation, the licensee or permittee must

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retain control over all material transmitted in a broadcast mode via the 
station's facilities, with the right to reject any material that it 
deems inappropriate or undesirable. The licensee or permittee is also 
responsible for all aspects of technical operation involving such 
telecommunications services.
    (e) The grant or renewal of a TV station license or permit will not 
be furthered or promoted by proposed or past VBI or visual signal 
telecommunications service operation; the licensee must establish that 
its broadcast operation serves the public interest wholly apart from 
such telecommunications service activities. (Violation of rules 
applicable to VBI and visual signal telecommunications services could, 
of course, reflect on a licensee's qualifications to hold its license or 
permit.)
    (f) TV broadcast stations are authorized to transmit VBI and visual 
telecommunications service signals during any time period, including 
portions of the day when normal programming is not broadcast. Such 
transmissions must be in accordance with the technical provisions of 
Sec. 73.682.

[50 1997 FR 4663 , Feb. 1, 1985, as amended at  50 FR 9035 , Mar. 6, 1985;  61 FR 36304 , July 10, 1996]