Bulletins

Tenth Broadband Progress Notice of Inquiry. By the Commission: Chairman Wheeler issuing a statement; and Commissioners Pai and O’Rielly approving in part, concurring in part and issuing separate statements.

Washington, D.C. – FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced the creation of a Universal Service Fund (USF) Strike Force—housed in the agency’s Enforcement Bureau—dedicated to combatting waste, fraud, and abuse in Commission funding programs. The USF Strike Force will be led by Loyaan Egal, who joins the FCC after serving as a senior Assistant United States Attorney in the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Washington, DC – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to modernize the federal E-rate program with the goal of providing greater Wi-Fi access to millions of students. In response, Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, made the following statement...

Proposal Slashes Funding Available for Internet Connectivity. Tomorrow, the FCC is scheduled to vote on a proposal to change E-Rate, a program designed to help schools and libraries connect to the Internet. That proposal promises over $5 billion for Wi-Fi but doesn't identify where the money will come from to fund this new program.

Any good math teacher would give the FCC's E-Rate proposal an "F" because the numbers just don’t add up. It promises over $5 billion for Wi-Fi but doesn't identify where the money will come from to fund this new program. As it stands, the proposal will blow a $2.7 billion hole in E-Rate's budget—one that the FCC has promised outside parties it’ll fill with a post-election increase in Americans’ phone bills.

E-Rate Central writes to express our support for the FCC's efforts to modernize the E-rate program. Beginning the process of reforming the E-rate program now is an important and timely first step toward achieving the critical national goal of providing America’s students with access to high - speed broadband in their schools and libraries within the next five years.

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of visiting the Pueblo of Acoma in central New Mexico along with Senator Tom Udall, my second visit to Indian Country in 2014. I saw buildings carved out of the earth by hand in the 17th Century, and also met with community leaders focused on unlocking the digital opportunities of the 21st Century.

Correcting the lack of robust Wi-Fi in schools and libraries is a major focus of our E-rate modernization efforts. Nearly 60 percent of schools in America lack sufficient Wi-Fi to provide their students and teachers with modern educational tools, and far too many schools simply have no Wi-Fi at all. As the President said a year ago in announcing the ConnectED initiative, which called for high-speed wireless connectivity in all schools and libraries, "[i]n a Nation where we expect free Wi-Fi with our coffee, why shouldn't we have it in our schools?"

Remarks of Commissioner Ajit Pai before the Federal Communications Bar Association. Washington, DC June 18, 2014.

Thank you for sharing your views on the importance of modernizing the E-Rate program to provide high-speed broadband to and within all of our nation's schools and libraries. I agree with each of the recommendations in your letter and hope to soon be able to adopt an Order beginning the process of E-rate modernization consistent with the approach you have outlined.

USAC offers a variety of training events for telecommunications carriers and applicants who participate in the Schools and Libraries (E-rate) Program. In this section you can access publications, handouts, webinar recordings, educational tutorials, and other resources. All events and resources are offered free of charge.

I had the pleasure of visiting Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, Virginia yesterday. The visit confirmed my deep belief that broadband-enabled technologies have the power to revolutionize education – empowering students and teachers. I saw students using laptops to access science lessons and collaborate in the cloud on year-end projects. I saw English as a Second Language students using apps to help learn their new language at their own pace. I talked to students using connected technology, including 3-D printers.

A bipartisan group of 46 House members wrote the FCC Commissioners on June 2nd in support of modernizing the E-rate program by accelerating universal access to high-speed broadband.

America needs to fully enter the digital age -- and that starts with our nation’s schools and libraries. I saw that for my self yesterday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) hereby submits the federal Universal Service Support Mechanisms fund size and administrative cost projections for the third quarter of calendar year 2014 (3Q2014), in accordance with Section 54.709 of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) rules.

The Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC’s) estimate of demand for the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Mechanism discounts for Funding Year (FY) 2014 (July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015) is $4.825 billion. This estimate is based on total funds requested in 45,731 FCC Form 471 applications received or postmarked on or before March 26, 2014, the close of the FY 2014 FCC Form 471 filing window. A table showing demand by service type and discount band is attached to this letter.

Statement of Ajit Pai Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission before the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations "Budget Hearing — Federal Communications Commission"

Remarks of Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, Consortium for School Networking Award for Excellence in Public Service, Washington, DC March 20, 2014.

Remarks of Tom Wheeler, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, Council of Chief State School Officers Legislative Conference March 17, 2014.

The purpose of this letter is to notify the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) that the Wireline Competition Bureau approves the Schools and Libraries Funding Year 2014 Program Integrity Assurance FCC Form 471 Review Procedures, dated December 9, 2013 (as modified via email from USAC on February 20, 2014), subject to further modifications and/or instruction from the Commission with regard to the prioritization of the FCC Form 471 applications.