Bulletins

On April 20, participating schools will take part in a first-ever Imagine a Technology Blackout Day, an exercise meant to underscore technology's value by way of contrast: Participants are being asked--for one day--to avoid all the technologies that keep the world running.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Three weeks ago, 858 people showed up in Washington for a conference, hosted by the Consortium for School Networking, on the use of technology in K-12 education.

A federal grand jury has indicted six companies and five individuals on charges of defrauding the E-rate program, which helps schools and libraries nationwide get connected to the Internet.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A federal grand jury in San Francisco today returned a 22-count indictment against six companies and five individuals on charges of fraud, collusion, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy in connection with E-Rate projects at schools in seven states--Arkansas, California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin--the Department of Justice announced.

Kevin J. Martin, President Bush's choice to lead the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) into a new era of digital transmissions, is a firm supporter of the eRate and other telecommunications programs that benefit education, according to an analysis of his voting record and public statements he has made as an FCC commissioner.

Schools in Western Pennsylvania and nationwide are slow to take advantage of the Internet, a Bush administration official said Monday in Pittsburgh.

The Federal Communications Commission is doing a poor job of overseeing the E-rate program, the Government Accountability Office said in a report last week.

The man who didn't always fall into line behind FCC chief Michael Powell will take the reins of the commission. President Bush this week tapped Kevin Martin to succeed Powell as chairman of the FCC. As a currently sitting commissioner, Martin gets the keys to the corner suite without first running the gauntlet of a Senate confirmation.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should assume greater oversight of the eRate, should more closely analyze how the money is being used in the nation's schools, and should rid the $2.25 billion-a-year program of the waste, fraud, and abuse that have marred its reputation in recent years, according to a government report released March 16.

MANHASSET, N.Y. — President Bush on Wednesday named Kevin Martin to lead the Federal Communications Commission, according to a White House statement.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Big phone company mergers and stricter enforcement of broadcast indecency rules are likely to dominate the agenda of the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, who may be nominated as early as this week.

Commission rules establish procedures to prevent persons who have “defrauded the government or engaged in similar acts through activities associated with or related to the schools and libraries support mechanism” from receiving the benefits associated with that program.

While Congress last year temporarily resolved an accounting dispute that had delayed disbursement of E-rate telecomm discounts, that reprieve was only supposed to last a year.

Good afternoon. On behalf of the entire staff at eSchool News, I'd like to salute you all for the job you do every day to manage the operation of your districts, and especially your judicious and effective use of technology to improve school efficiencies and raise student achievement.

Late last year, the company's Inter-Tel Technologies Inc. agreed to plead guilty and pay $9.5 million in charges and costs to settle federal charges of rigging bids, inflating prices and submitting false documents in connection with the federally funded E-Rate program to to connect schools and libraries to the Internet in Michigan and California.

The SLD has recently seen marketing efforts regarding video and other services in the Telecommunications and Internet Access categories that misconstrue FCC eligibility requirements.

Maybe the trouble started when the acronyms describing service providers' business models threatened to outnumber the acronyms describing the technologies they used. But by now, the sheer variety of service providers and technologies alike has overwhelmed a regulatory structure originally designed to make sure two types of carriers - local and long-distance - played nicely together.

The Federal Communications Commission has directed Kansas lawmakers to water down proposed legislation aimed at assessing state fees on Internet-based phone services.

The FY2005 Form 471 application filing window has been extended one day, to 11:59 PM EST on Friday, February 18.

Today, I sent a letter to the President thanking him for the incredible privilege of chairing the Federal Communications Commission during his first term. With a mixture of pride and regret I informed him of my intention to step down as a commissioner and chairman some time in March.