s Multichannel Multipoint Distribution System (MMDS) MMDS got its start as a "wireless cable television" solution. In 1963, a spectrum allocation known as the Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) was executed by the FCC as a way to distribute educational con- tent to schools and universities. In the 1970s the FCC established a two- channel metropolitan distribution service called the Multipoint Distribution Service (MDS). It was to be used for the delivery of Pay-TV signals, but with the advent of inexpensive satellite access and the ubiq- uitous deployment of cable systems the need for MDS went away. In 1983, the FCC rearranged the MDS and ITFS spectrum allocation, creating 20 ITFS education channels and 13 MDS channels. In order to qualify to use the ITFS channels, schools had to use a minimum of 20 hours of airtime, which meant that ITFS channels tended to be heavily, albeit randomly, utilized. As a result, MMDS providers that use all 33 MDS and ITFS channels must be able to dynamically map requests for service to available channels in a completely transparent fashion, which means that the bandwidth-management system must be reasonably sophisticated. MMDS is, in effect, wireless DSL. In spite of its roots in television dis- tribution, there are no franchise issues for its use (there are, of course, licensing requirements). However, the technology is also limited in terms of what it can do. Unlike LMDS, MMDS is designed as a one-way broad- cast technology and, therefore, does not typically allow for upstream com- munication. Beginning in November 1997, Bellsouth deployed an MMDS-based home entertainment system in New Orleans, offering more than 160 channels of programming. MMDS allows for transmission distances up to 35 miles, farther than LMDS, and by December 1998 the company had a similar presence in Atlanta, Charleston, Birmingham, and Jacksonville, as well. Today, their coverage area has expanded some- what, and in late May 2003 they made a $65 million bid on MCI's MMDS properties, putting a $3.9 