E-rate Commentary

by John Harrington

17 going on 18

The application deadline for the 17th E-rate funding year closed this past week, with applicants from across the country submitting requests for about 5 billion dollars (+/-). Despite the fact...

by John Harrington

Schools Need Support, Not Priorities

The FCC's eligible service list (ESL) sets the parameters for the goods and services that will qualify for E-rate support. Each and every year, the FCC solicits, receives, and considers...

by Peter Kaplan

Invoice Deadline Extension Arrives Unexpectedly

The E-rate program has many deadlines of which applicants and service providers should be aware. For example, the Form 471 filing window changes each year, installation deadlines are based on...

by Ta'Chelle Jones

E-rate Applicant Success Profile: Western Heights Public Schools

Most things E-rate usually end up boiling down to numbers. For Western Heights, the numbers may tell a different story than you might expect. Eight‚Äîthe number of schools in the...

by Cathy Cruzan

February 28, 2014

Supporting Applicants’ Needs, Not Defining Them

Efficiently and accurately communicating information within a school or library -- and externally sharing it with the community -- is of ever-growing importance. But deploying new communications tools and services...

by Peter Kaplan

February 21, 2014

FY 2014 Rules Will Not Change

The FY 2014 Form 471 filing window will close on March 26th. In the midst of this filing window, stakeholders are expecting the FCC to release another Public Notice seeking...

by John Harrington

February 14, 2014

Unlimited funding for Internet Access? Sign me up!

Unlimited funding for Internet access and certain telecommunications services is being promoted by some within the education community as the solution to reforming the E-rate program. I admit that "no...

by John Harrington

January 31, 2014

Four Things FCC Can Do Today to Enhance E-rate

Increasing the E-rate funding cap and reforming the Universal Service Fund is not something that the FCC (or Congress) takes lightly. Translated: USF reform may take some time. In the...