Upcoming E-Rate Dates:
March 12 |
USAC “open hour” webinar to demonstrate the new Category Two Budget Tool. |
March 13 |
Form 486 deadline for FY 2019 funding committed in Wave 33. More generally, the Form 486 deadline is 120 days from the FCDL date, or the service start date (typically July 1st), whichever is later. Other upcoming Form 486 deadlines are:
Wave 34 03/20/2020
Wave 35 03/26/2020
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March 16 |
Due date for submitting reply comments on the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) regarding new rules on suspensions and debarments (FCC 19-120). See our newsletter of February 17th for a summary of initial comments. |
March 25 |
Close of the Form 471 application window for FY 2020 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. |
FCC Decision Watch:
The FCC released a decision (DA 20-237) addressing a series of Requests for Review and/or Waiver dealing with twelve USAC denials of operational SPIN changes (many tracing back to FY 2011). The FCC approved five requests and denied seven.
Under the E-rate rules governing operational SPIN changes, the two most important criteria for permitting a change are that:
- There is a legitimate reason to change the provider (e.g., a breach of contract or an inability of the service provider to perform the requested services; and
- The newly selected service provider had received the next highest score in the original bid evaluation process.
Based on last week’s FCC’s decision, we draw the following conclusions:
- If a newly designated vendor cannot provide service as of the start of the funding year, an applicant may continue to receive service from the incumbent vendor even if the incumbent was not the second most cost-effective bidder.
- Dissatisfaction with the quality of service provided can be deemed equivalent to an “inability” to perform. Dissatisfaction with a vendor’s “customer service,” as opposed to the inability to provide the service itself, however, does not justify a SPIN change.
- The need to change a service provider because the applicant’s first choice was not compliant with its state’s bidding requirements is not an acceptable reason for a SPIN change.
- The opportunity to switch to a lower-priced vendor does not constitute a valid reason for a SPIN change.
- An operational SPIN change cannot be used to obtain service from a new provider to serve a location for which the applicant had not sought competitive bids.
Reply Comments re. National Security Threats:
The FCC received a dozen reply comments last week to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) regarding national security threats (FCC 19-121). As was the case with the initial comments (see our newsletter of February 10th), most of the responses addressed the need for the removal and replacement of Huawei and ZTE equipment — and the funding thereof — by Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (“ETCs”).
E-rate focused reply comments on the proceeding were submitted by the Consortium for School Networking (“CoSN”) and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (“SETDA”) and by the E-Rate Management Professionals Association (“E-mpa®”). Both sets of comments agreed with the FCC’s proposal that the removal of prohibited equipment by E-rate applicants should be encouraged, but not be mandated, and that funding should be provided if such equipment is replaced.
Separately, the FCC opened a reporting portal (see Public Notice DA 20-166) within which ETCs must report the extent to which their networks contain or use prohibited equipment or services provided by either Huawei or ZTE and the projected costs of removing and replacing such equipment. Other Universal Service Fund (“USF”) recipients, including E-rate applicants, may participate in the information collection process on a voluntary basis.
Benton Institute Supports E-Rate Funding for Internet to Lower-Income Homes:
The Benton Institute released a short article last week entitled “From Places to People — Connecting Individuals to Community Anchor Institutions.” The article highlights programs by some libraries and schools to lend WiFi hotspots to households without Internet access. Such programs align perfectly with the recently passed House legislation “Closing the Homework Gap Through Mobile Hotspots Act,” H.R. 5243, discussed in last week’s newsletter.
The Benton article stresses the importance of providing Internet access to all students and states explicitly that “Congress and the FCC should expand E-Rate to provide wireless access to students of lower-income families who do not have broadband at home” [Benton’s own emphasis].
USAC Clarification on PIA Discount Rate Inquiries:
Confusion abounded early last week after applicants began reporting PIA inquiries insisting that discount rates must be supported by data for the 2020-2021 school year — obviously difficult to obtain before next year’s school year has even started — and that “new rules” and “system resets” precluded the use of 2019 enrollment and NSLP data. USAC, to its credit, quickly cleared up any misunderstanding that may have arisen among PIA reviewers and confirmed that 2019-2020 NSLP data is indeed valid.