Educational television for Boston and the rest of the country may be a reality soon, if action expected this month from the Federal Communications Commission is any indication.

The FCC, according to reliable sources in Washington, will announce around March 25 that it has given final approval to the allocation of over 200 TV channels for educational purposes. Boston is scheduled to receive Channel 2, in the very-high-frequency band. David W. Bailey '21, Secretary to the Corporation, says the University will be "vitally interested in helping to make use of it."

Lowell May Act

But Bailey also says the University "has no plans to go into the television field except through its participation in the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council." The Council, a nonprofit organization of Boston's universities and cultural institutions, now runs FM radio station WGBH.

Parker Wheatley, the Council's director, is keeping quiet on what, if any, action the organization will take in applying for an actual permit to build a station, once the reservation of Channel 2 has been made by the FCC.

The Council's hopeful statements on the proposed allocation during FCC hearings last spring, however, indicate that it may take charge of filing for the construction permit soon, with the full approval of all its member institutions, including Harvard

Council Plays Safe

Wheatley can hardly be blamed for playing safe, since the history of educational TV's battle with commercial interests for F.C.C. sanction has been a long, confusing, touchy subject.

The whole business apparently started with Miss Frelda Hennock, a vociferous, crusading member of the F.C.C. itself. Miss Hennock fought more or less single-handedly during 1949 to have at least 25 percent of all the available 1,900 channels reserved for education. But in July of that year, the Commission released tentative allocations which completely ignored non-commercial culture.

By October, 1950, the F.C.C., faced with Miss Hennock's needling, and a growing support of her plans, had changed its tune. It again started consideration of allocations questions and as an outgrowth of a meeting of prominent national educators at that time the Joint Committee on Educational Television was formed. This committee, composed of members from such organizations as the National Association of Land Grant Colleges, has since agitated for 10 percent of available channels: its demands seem certain to be met this month.

Tentative Allocations

Last March, the Commission announced its tentative allocation scheme, by which at least 200 channels would be approved for use solely for educational purposes. Then the fight began as "comments," favorable and unfavorable to the proposals, were filed with the F.C.C.

The Lowell Institute Council, bucking pressure from at least four "commercially-interested" parties in this area, including CBS, duly filed its laudatory comment. It consists mainly of favorable letters from persons representing the Council's member groups, such as President Conant, B.U. President Harold C. Case, and other interested individuals such as Mayor John B. Hynes, and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (R.-Mass.).

The section by Ralph Lowell, trustee of the Council, probably gives the best indication of what's in store for the future. It states that Council members have been "vigorously engaged in exploring the best means for taking advantage of the proposed reservation of VHF channel 2...They are agreed that the (Council) is the proper agency to coordinate their efforts, and the rising of funds...The Council is actively seeking these necessary funds and is more than reasonably confident that they can be secured (if the channel is reserved in Boston.)"

An additional statement, filed by E. L. Chaffee, Director of the Laboratories of Engineering Sciences and Applied Physics, gives technical information on the clearance of "a non-commercial educational television station...to be located on Great Blue Hill, ten miles south of the center of Boston." This is the present site of WGBH's transmitting facilities.