The first time there was defined "for simplicity" in Annex 1 of "Final acts of the European Broadcasting Conference in the VHF and UHF bands - Stockholm, 1961".
This was being gradually phased out with the introduction of digital television in the DVB-T standard, which is not defined for VHF Band I, though some older receivers and some modulators do support it.
In the United States, use of this band is for analog NTSC (ended June 12, 2009 for high power stations) and digital ATSC (current).
In European countries that used System B for television broadcasting, the band was subdivided into three main channels, E2, E3 and E4, each being 7 MHz wide.
In the United States, the FCC will occasionally issue a license for 87.9 MHz (though it only does so on rare occurrences and special circumstances; KSFH was the most recent standalone station to use 87.9); 87.7 MHz, which is approximately the same frequency as the audio feed of channel A6, is used by some television licenses to broadcast primarily to radio, such as Pulse 87's stations.
Short wave-like propagation is only possible under special circumstances, including frequent E skip events in the summer season.