News of the Week

The FY 2014 application window will close next week on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.  The SLD’s Client Service Bureau will be open from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT this coming weekend.

Wave 43 for FY 2013 will be released on Wednesday, March 19, 2014.  Funding for FY 2013 is available for Priority 1 services only.  Priority 2 is being denied at all discount levels.  Cumulative funding for FY 2013 is $1.95 billion.

Two small waves — Wave 121 for FY 2010 and Wave 110 for FY 2011 — will also be released next week on March 18th and March 20th, respectively. 

As discussed in the SLD News Brief for February 21, 2014, Item 24 of the newly revised Form 471 is a “Description of Broadband and other Connectivity Services Ordered for Schools and Libraries from this funding request.”  It contains required fields specifying the number of lines and the download speed of each line for every FRN involving connectivity services.  Although we encourage applicants to review this News Brief before beginning their Form 471 applications, we are finding that the Item 24 requirements are raising additional questions.

Based on further discussions with the FCC, the State E-Rate Coordinators’ Alliance (“SECA”) has received the following guidance:

Guidance to Applicants for New Form 471, Item 24 Questions

Beginning with Funding Year 2014, the Form 471 contains a few extra questions designed to collect broadband data for the FCC.  These questions replace the old Block 2/3 questions.

You must complete Item 24 for each FRN that requests E-rate discounts for either Telecommunications Services or Internet Access for the purpose of providing broadband and other connectivity to schools and/or libraries.  Your responses are not a substitute for your Item 21 attachment, but they should be consistent with it.

Checkbox to skip Item 24:

Check this box if this FRN is not for broadband or Internet connectivity and skip the remainder of the questions below.  For example, if the FRN is for one of the following services, you can check this box and move on:  voice services (including cellular voice only), webhosting, hosted e-mail service, internal connections, and basic maintenance of internal connections.

If the FRN is for Internet Access only — i.e., where no transport (circuit) is included — you can check this box and skip the remaining questions in Item 24.

If the FRN is for cellular service that contains data plans or cellular mobile broadband service, you should not check the box and must complete the data collection table in Item 24a.

Item 24.a table:
In this item you should list the number of lines and the average speed for the lines included in the funding request.  Choose the type of connection you would like to enter on the first line from the dropdown menu (click on the arrow below “Type of Connection”) and fill in the number of lines and the download speed per line in Mbps.

• Some types of connections (dial-up, T1/DS-1, and T3/DS-3) have a standard speed which will populate automatically.  For these types, provide only the number of lines.
• If you have multiple speeds for the lines within one type of broadband connection, create a separate row for each unique speed that includes the number of lines at that speed.
• Note that the download speed is not the amount of Internet that you’re requesting, but rather is the size of the circuit (transport pipe) that the Internet is riding over.
• Cellular data download speeds vary by carrier, type of connection, and location.  As a rough estimate, you can assume 1-2 Mbps for 3G service or 5-8 Mbps for 4G service.  For a more accurate measure, you can measure actual download speed using the FCC Speed Test apps for Android and iPhone devices.

Item 24.b questions:

Items 24.b.1 and 24.b.2 relate to wired and WiFi connectivity to the Internet available to students or library patrons and must be completed even if this FRN is not for Internet access specifically.

• If the FRN is not for last mile connections (i.e., not for circuits to school buildings), actual percentages are not required and you should list ‘0’ for each item (the system won’t let you leave it blank).  Zeros can also be used for cellular data or mobile broadband service.
• The percentages should be calculated independently for each item – the sum of the two items may exceed 100%.
• If you are filing a consortium application that contains last mile connections (i.e., circuits to school buildings), use a calculation that will give the most accurate picture of average coverage for your members.

Item 24.c questions:
Only consortia/statewide applications should complete Item 24.

• “Last mile” is defined as the last circuit that connects to the school buildings.  A district WAN, for example, would normally provide last mile connections to the individual schools.  It is not likely to include a regional or statewide circuit that connects to a district or library’s network head-end unless the head-end location is located in the school or library.

FCC Comment Period Deadlines:

The FCC’s Public Notice on E-rate modernization (DA 14-308) was released for public comment March 6th on an abbreviated comment schedule (see our newsletter of March 10, 2014).  Comments are due April 7th and reply comments are due April 21st.

The three most critical proposals subject to comment are:

1. To replace the current two-priority system with a new two-category system, each separately funded.
2. Within each category, to emphasize broadband funding and phase out support for voice and other “legacy” services.
3. To add an additional $2 billion in funding to be spread over FY 2015 and FY 2016.

Tangentially related to E-rate, comments are also being sought on the Report on FCC Process Reform (see Public Notice, our newsletter of February 24, 2014, and E-rate comments already filed by the State E-Rate Coordinators’ Alliance).  The comment period deadline on this proceeding is March 31, 2014.  There is no reply comment period.

In related news last week, the House of Representatives passed two bills that, if adopted in the Senate and signed into law, would affect FCC procedures, specifically:

• The Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2013, H.R. 3675 is designed to provide greater transparency and efficiency in FCC procedures.  This bill would also extend the USF’s Anti-Deficiency Act (“ADA”) exemption through 2020.
• The Federal Communications Commission Consolidating Reporting Act of 2013, H.E. 2844 would consolidate FCC reporting obligations.

Form 486 Deadlines:

Typically, a Form 486 must be filed no later than 120 days from FCDL issuance or the start of service, whichever is later.  Assuming services started July 1, 2013, the deadlines for FY 2013 funding waves 1-26 have already passed.  The Form 486 deadlines for the remainder of March are:

                 Wave 27           03/20/2014
                 Wave 28           03/27/2014

FCC Appeal Decisions Watch:

The FCC issued the following two appeal orders, both consistent with past precedents:

1. Central Islip and Jennings School Districts (DA 14-344):  The FCC granted the requests from two school districts to waive the E-rate competitive bidding rule requiring price to be the primary factor in bid awards.  In both cases, the FCC found that the districts had selected vendors that “met their needs in a way that ultimately was likely to impose the least burden on the federal universal service fund,” and that, “even though price was not the primary factor considered, the selected bidder had the lowest price for the services that actually met the school’s needs.”
2. Boulevard Nursery School, et al (DA 14-345):  The FCC granted the requests of twelve applicants seeking relief from the FY 2013 application deadline.  In each case, the applicants had filed their basic applications within the window, except for the related certifications or Item 21 Attachments.

The SLD News Brief for March 14, 2014 reviews the process for submitting Item 21 Attachments.  It is important to recognize that these attachments are a key part of a Form 471 application and must be submitted within the window.

When filing attachments using the SLD’s online system, applicants must remember to click the Submit button on the last screen.

Attachments can also be filed on paper by e-mail, fax, or mail (preferably using a trackable express delivery service).  Paper attachments must be clearly labeled with contact information and BEN, application, and FRN numbers to permit the SLD to match up the attachments with the proper applications.  Applicants using EducationSuperHighway’s new Item 21 Entry Portal to prepare their attachments (see our newsletter of March 3, 2014) must realize that this system creates paper Item 21 Attachments (albeit in PDF format) that must be similarly sent to the SLD.  The Portal is not a substitute for the SLD’s online Item 21 Attachment system.