public access

American  

noun

1. the availability of noncommercial television and radio broadcasting facilities to community groups or members of the public for programs of general interest to the community, especially as a condition of cable television franchises.

2. a type of noncommercial programming of general interest to the community.

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Other Word Forms

• public-access
  adjective

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

public access

But Carmody's bigger concern is whether the promise of continued public access will mean much if green fees rise dramatically.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

Grizedale Observatory near Ambleside, Cumbria, opened in May 2024, offering public access to telescopes, a planetarium and meteorite laboratory, as well as staging a dark skies festival and other events.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

While that was good for pedestrians, it cut off the White House and symbolically severed it from public access — you could no longer drive by and wave.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

The county’s answer: Limit public access to a pair of in-person kiosks in Raleigh once the website goes dark, likely this month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

At a public access terminal in a Miami library, she found a cheap apartment and paid the deposit electronically.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

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