Education's Role as a Lobbying Force  Education's Role as a
Lobbying Force  The battle for ITFS shows IHE's strength.  A
recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission
reflected the accuracy of the observation of Tip O'Neill, the
late speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, that all
politics are local. The FCC decision also reflected the
corollary that colleges and universities and other educators can
be an extremely formidable lobbying force in Washington, even in
the face of a competing government and industry-backed outcome,
when mobilized and coordinated around a unified position.  The
issue at the FCC involved a proceeding to overhaul the
Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) band plan and
technical rules and determine whether educational institutions,
public TV stations, churches, and nonprofit entities would
continue to exclusively control the ITFS spectrum. This is the
only portion of the radio spectrum that for 40 years has been
used by educators for the delivery of instructio