E-Rate Central News for the Weel of September 14, 2009

[Hurley, Jeannene (MDE)]

·         FY 2008 and FY 2009 Funding Status

·         E-Rate Updates and Reminders

·         Schools and Libraries News Brief dated September 11th

 

The E-Rate Central News for the Week is prepared by E-Rate Central.  E-Rate Central specializes in providing consulting, compliance, and forms processing services to E-rate applicants.  Additional E-rate information is located on the E-Rate Central Web site <http://www.e-ratecentral.com/>  (http://www.e-ratecentral.com <http://www.e-ratecentral.com/> ).  To learn more about our services, please contact us by phone (516-801-7804) or through our Contact Us Web form (http://www.e-ratecentral.com/contactUs/contactForm.asp <http://www.e-ratecentral.com/contactUs/contactForm.asp> ).  

 

FY 2008 and FY 2009 Funding Status

 

As a result of the SLD's IT upgrade (reviewed below), no regular funding waves for either FY 2008 or FY 2009 will be released this week.  At best, we would expect smaller waves the following week.

 

E-Rate Updates and Reminders

 

SLD IT Upgrade Status:

 

The interactive portion of the SLD's Web site, which permits the online filing of most forms and provides access to various databases, has been restored.  These online resources were shut down September 1st to permit a move and upgrade of the SLD's critical systems.  Paper forms received by the SLD during this hiatus will be data entered now that the online filing system is back in operation.

 

Cumulative spreadsheet data on all Form 470s filed on or before August 31st, the day before the IT transition period, are available in a Special Notice on the E-Rate Central Web site (see http://www.e-ratecentral.com/2009_Special_Notice.asp <http://www.e-ratecentral.com/2009_Special_Notice.asp> ).  These spreadsheets will remain posted for the remainder of this week.  Summary information and PDF copies of all Form 470s filed on or after July 21st - including 54 filed on September 1st and 4 more subsequently accepted on paper - can be accessed in the Form 470 Table on the SLD Web site (see http://www.universalservice.org/sl/tools/search-tools/forms-470/Forms-470-table.aspx <http://www.universalservice.org/sl/tools/search-tools/forms-470/Forms-470-table.aspx> ).

 

Fall E-Rate Training:

 

Updated training schedules and registration information for the eight one-day SLD workshops planned for this fall are included in the SLD's News Brief referenced below.

 

More E-Rate Debarments:

 

In the last two weeks, the FCC has formally debarred three more individuals from participation in the E-rate program.  All these debarments were expected given earlier criminal convictions and program suspensions.  Anyone doubting the seriousness of the government's efforts to deal harshly with E-rate fraud should note that one of the debarment letters was addressed to:

 

                                                Inmate No. 39456-037

                                                Federal Transfer Center

                                                Oklahoma City, OK 73189

 

FCC National Broadband Plan Update:

 

The FCC has issued a Public Notice (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-1992A1.pdf <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-1992A1.pdf> ) "encouraging the public to respond to the facts and reasoning asserted during the broadband workshops, or to raise facts and reasoning that should have been discussed."  Responses to the various workshops are due by September 15, October 2, and October 30, respectively.  The tentative agenda for the FCC's September 29th open meeting features a presentation on the status of the National Broadband Plan that the FCC must deliver to Congress by February 17, 2010.

 

Commercial Program Distribution on School Buses:

 

Although only tangentially related to E-rate, the FCC released an interesting Order last week dealing with Commercial Proposals for Distributing Radio or Television Programs for Reception On Board School Buses (DA 09-1999) (see http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-1999A1.pdf <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-1999A1.pdf> ).  Specifically, the Order deals with services being provided by one company.  BusRadio, a Massachusetts-based media company, that currently provides music, original programming, commercial content, and public service announcements to more than one million young listeners during their daily school bus rides.  In addition to programming, BusRadio provides each of its buses with certain safety features including a global positioning satellite ("GPS") device, a driver "emergency panic button" ("EPB") tied to local emergency services, and an internal and external public address ("PA") system.

 

The FCC's Order addresses the apparent trade-off between the commercial and safety aspects of the systems.  It concludes that decisions on the appropriateness of these services should reside at the local level, but that BusRadio needs to adopt more specific and publicly-available content guidelines to permit more informed community decisions.

 

The Order is interesting from an E-rate perspective because it highlights the safety aspects of school bus GPS tracking systems.  Although the Eligible Services List notes that wireless telephone services used "by a school bus driver while delivering children to and from school" are eligible, it is silent as to the eligibility of fee-based GPS services.  We assume that an allocated portion of such a service, attributable to cellular transmission, would be eligible, but that the actual GPS equipment and any tracking software or service would be ineligible.

 

Schools and Libraries News Brief dated September 11th

http://www.universalservice.org/sl/tools/news-briefs/preview.aspx?id=254 <http://www.universalservice.org/sl/tools/news-briefs/preview.aspx?id=254> 

 

Reflecting the slow news week for E-rate, the SLD News Brief of September 11, 2009, provides only brief synopses on:

 

*	USAC IT upgrade reminders (discussed above)
*	Fall training update (discussed above)
*	Future News Brief plans to cover applicant and service provider activities needed to complete FY 2008, deal with FY 2009, and get started on FY 2010.

 

The SLD's Tip of the Week reminds applicants that the summer deferral period for PIA responses has ended.  Beginning on Monday, PIA's normal 15-day response requirement will be reinstated for all applicants.

 

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Disclaimer: This newsletter may contain unofficial information on prospective E-rate developments and/or may reflect E-Rate Central's own interpretations of E-rate practices and regulations. Such information is provided for planning and guidance purposes only. It is not meant, in any way, to supplant official announcements and instructions provided by either the SLD or the FCC.


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