Bulletins

E-Rate Settlement and Plea Agreement. As identified in the Company’s previous filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Divisions of the United States Department of Justice have been investigating other companies’ and Inter-Tel’s participation in a federally funded “e-Rate program” to connect schools and libraries to the Internet.

Washington, D.C. – The federal program that helps provide Internet access to the nation’s schools and libraries has approved $24.2 million in new funding for projects and services.

Commissioner Copps Statement

WASHINGTON - The program that helps link schools and libraries to the Internet has resumed spending after a cash-flow crunch that delayed more than $400 million in projects.

(WASHINGTON) American Library Association President Carol Brey-Casiano released the following statement, which calls on Congress to pass remedial language to resolve E-rate accounting-requirement issues as soon as Congress convenes on November 16, 2004.

TUNUNAK, Alaska — When the plump seals, walruses and occasional beluga whale arrive in the frigid waters off this Bering Sea village, many plastic chairs in the Paul T. Albert Memorial School sit empty. But on a recent morning, with the big hunt still months away, five Yupik Eskimos were learning geometry.

The Schools and Libraries Committee of the USAC Board of Directors has approved a 66-day filing window for Funding Year 2005 (July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006). The window will open at noon (EST) on Tuesday, December 14, 2004 and close at 11:59 pm (EST) on Thursday, February 17, 2005.

Two important deadlines are approaching for certain Funding Year 2004 and Funding Year 2003 applicants.

We note that the Commission received several comments and reply comments in response to the initial Public Notice for the Funding Year 2005 Eligible Services List. The Commission has incorporated some of the suggestions provided in the comments, plans to incorporate other suggestions in the Funding Year 2006 Eligible Services List, and will consider comments concerning specific issues, such as dark fiber and voice over Internet protocol, in the active proceeding in CC Docket No. 02-6.

Service providers will be required to pre-register and guarantee payment in advance. The Training Agenda and Presentations for the training sessions will be available in advance of the sessions on the 2004 Service Provider Training page.

SLD is pleased to announce that it will be providing a series of three 2-day live training sessions for service providers.

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Money to wire schools and libraries to the Internet and help fund rural health care should resume flowing soon, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said on Wednesday, a day after lawmakers attacked the agency for stopping funds.

Montana Republican Sen. Conrad Burns on Tuesday vowed to maintain but fix a program that helps rural schools, libraries and rural health centers to the Internet. Burns is a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the troubled program, known as the E-Rate program.

The SLD held a Train-the-Trainer workshop on September 27–29, 2004, in Arlington, Virginia. The presentations from this workshop have been posted to the "Train-the-Trainer" 2004 Workshop Presentations page in the Reference Area of the SLD web site.

The FCC has determined that the public interest will be served if it delays enforcement of the recently adopted Red Light Rule from October 1, 2004 to November 1, 2004.

Applicants and members of the public can now view the SLD’s pilot Eligible Products Database.

The following comments are submitted in response to the Proposed Fourth Quarter 2004 Universal Service Contribution Factor (DA 04-2976) released by the Wireline Competition Bureau (“Bureau”) on September 16, 2004.

Sign up for school lunch and a win a trip to Hawaii? That's what the Department of Education is dangling in front of parents in exchange for getting their lunch forms in promptly.

USAC has been directed by the FCC to move to government accounting standards by October 1, 2004, and this has raised potential budget authority issues that may impact USAC.

To promote greater transparency to what is eligible for support under the schools and libraries support mechanism, on December 23, 2003 the Commission adopted a rule which formalizes the process for updating the eligible services list, beginning with Funding Year 2005.