The Federal Communications Commission April 30 proposed changing the priority rules starting in the E-rate program's fourth year because of the heavy demand for internal connections support.
The Federal Communications Commission April 30 proposed changing the priority rules starting in the E-rate program's fourth year because of the heavy demand for internal connections support.
At the same time, the FCC also extended the installation deadline for Year 3 projects to Sept. 30, 2001, and proposed making Sept. 30 the installation deadline for each funding year on a permanent basis.
In proposing a change in the priority rules, the FCC noted that according to a demand projection submitted by the Schools and Libraries Division, there would be about $900 million available to support internal connections requests in the fourth funding year, but that requests from applicants at the 90 percent discount rate totaled more than that.
The FCC said it was soliciting comments on two proposals. Under the first, the SLD would examine an application for both shared and site-specific services and determine which individual sites had not received funding for internal connections in Year 3. Those unfunded sites would then be funded in order of discount level. The FCC said it had "tentatively concluded that this approach would be more consistent with the commission's commitment to ensuring that discounts under this support mechanism are targeted to the schools and libraries with the greatest need." At the last meeting of the Schools and Libraries Committee of the Universal Service Administrative Company, it was reported that this approach was preferred by a number of stakeholders, including the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Under the second option, the FCC would not change the current priority rules. It expressed concern that applicants "would not receive sufficient funding to permit completion of a useful system of internal connections." It also said it was concerned that applicants "may be unable to complete even part of their internal connection project, because they are unable to finance the additional funding burden." Further, it said it was concerned that "applicants eligible for 90 percent discounts could receive funding commitments on internal connections for two years in a row, while other schools that are also economically disadvantaged, albeit not to the same degree, could receive no discounts at all."
In extending the installation deadline for the third straight year, the FCC also proposed making that change on a permanent basis. It noted that many schools and libraries have been unable to meet the original June 30 deadline for a variety of reasons, including delays in funding commitments and events beyond the service provider's control, such as manufacturing delays and natural disasters. It also proposed permanently extending the deadline to Sept. 30 of the following year in certain special cases: where applicants got a funding commitment on or after March 1 of the funding year, where applicants received service provider change or service substitution authorizations after March 1 of the funding year, where applicants whose providers were unable to complete implementation for reasons beyond the service provider's control, and applicants whose funding disbursements were delayed while their application was investigated for program compliance.
The FCC said it would accept comments on its proposals for 15 days following their publication in the Federal Register, and then accept reply comments for another 7 days. As a result, it will probably be impossible for the SLD to process any funding commitments for internal connections until at least mid-May at the earliest. The SLD cannot begin processing any funding commitments until the FCC sets the annual funding cap for the program.
