Bulletins

A former South Carolina school official has been indicted on mail and wire fraud charges in connection with a U.S. government program intended to bring the Internet to schools and libraries in poor areas, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.

The federal government's ongoing probe into E-Rate fraud nabbed another conviction Wednesday with the guilty plea of California-based Premio, which agreed to $400,000 in criminal fines and $1.3 million in restitution as part of the civil settlement.

Congress has extended for an additional year an exemption of budget rules governing the federal E-rate program, which supports telecommunications services in schools and libraries. A one-year exemption passed in 2004 was scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

The FCC issued the following Order addressing waivers on filing various forms, including SPIs.

The Federal Communications Commission is studying a raft of potential changes to the $2.25 billion E-rate discount program, which helps schools afford telecommunications and Internet access. The program has been dogged for several years in Congress by controversy over whether it is prone to waste and fraud.

Requests for eRate discounts have fallen for the second straight year. Nearly 40,000 applicants requested a total of $3.65 billion in funding discounts in 2005, down about $600,000--or 15 percent--from last year, according to the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC).

"People have no clue how to get here," said Luana Esterline, manager of the quaint country store in the town. Offering a little bit of everything, the store is housed in the first building erected in Pettisville, back in the 19th century when the area was known for woods, water, wolves, and black bears.

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.

On April 15, 2005, the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) reported to the Federal Communications Commission that $3.65 billion in requested funding has been estimated for schools and libraries seeking E-rate discounts for Funding Year 2005.

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.

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.