The Schools and Libraries Division February 15 posted a notice regarding the eligibility of Priority 1 services. The SLD said it was posting the notice because it had "recently seen marketing efforts regarding video and other services in the Telecommunications and Internet Access categories that misconstrue [Federal Communications Commission] eligibility requirements.
The announcement said:
"In the Telecommunications category of service, the FCC's Eligible Services List indicates, in the listing for ‘Distance Learning Circuits,' that ‘[t]ransmission services that provide distance learning are eligible for discount.' Some may have mistakenly concluded that this statement indicates that any Distance Learning service is eligible, when in fact the statement is limited to eligibility for the transmission services that enable distance learning.
"Since a full distance learning system may include components beyond the FCC's definition of a telecommunications service, applicants must use care that the costs of ineligible features have been removed when submitting funding requests.
"In the Internet Access category of service, the FCC's Eligible Services List indicates that the Internet Access category of service is ‘limited to the provision of ‘basic conduit access' to the Internet.' Some may have mistakenly concluded that Internet Access can include functions that go beyond ‘basic conduit access' to the Internet, such as a direct exchange of data or video between applicant sites. Such conclusions are incorrect. In the Internet Access category of service, the SLD will only fund services that are within FCC requirements for ‘basic conduit access' to the Internet. Funding in this category will not be provided for transport of point-to-point connectivity of data, video, or voice applications that are to be provided only by eligible telecommunications carriers."
The SLD again cautioned applicants about submitting funding requests that included ineligible services. Such services, it said, should be cost-allocated out.
