News of the Week

E-Rate for FY 2023:

USAC issued Wave 26 for FY 2023 on Thursday, October 19th, for $42.2 million.  Total funding is now $2.29 billion.  At this point, USAC has funded 95.0% of the originally submitted applications representing 79.5% of the dollars requested.

ECF for 2021-2023:

Wave 36 for Window 3 was issued on Wednesday, October 18th, for $53.4 million.  Total commitments for all three ECF windows are at $6.48 billion. 

At the Commission’s Open Meeting last Thursday, the FCC voted 3:2 to adopt a Declaratory Ruling making Wi-Fi equipment and services eligible for E-rate funding.  The actual Ruling is expected to be published early this week, tracking closely, if not exactly, with the draft that had been circulated earlier for consideration (see our newsletter of October 2nd).

The goal of the Declaratory Ruling is to make school bus Wi-Fi eligible for FY 2024.  Exactly how eligibility will be defined and implemented is an open question.  The next critical step in the process will be the release of a proposed supplement to the Eligible Services List (“ESL”).  The ESL supplement will be subject to a brief public comment period to permit school bus Wi-Fi to be included in the full and final ESL for release prior to the opening the FY 2024 Form 471 application window.

Hopefully, the proposed ESL supplement will clear up the practical questions not addressed in the Declaratory Ruling.  One list of questions, provided in an ex parte filing by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (“SHLB”) Coalition, after discussions with FCC staff earlier this month, included:

• Will equipment and services be classified as a Category One or Category Two expense?
• Will some type of user verification or authentication be required?
• Will the current E-rate application and follow-up processes (bidding, forms, etc.) be used?
• Will there be a new “bus” drop-down option on the Form 470?
• Will schools be required to issue an RFP for any or all segments of a bus Wi-Fi request?
• Will there be any usage limitations on funding?
• Will there be any discounts during the summer months when buses may be seldom used?
• Can buses be parked and still have an active Wi-Fi connection?
• Will applicants, who entered into multi-year contracts under ECF for Wi-Fi on buses, be grandfathered in and exempt from competitive bidding?
• Will third-party bus ownership be an issue?  (Many districts lease buses from a commercial company.)
• Would the rules preclude applications by consortia?

To which we would add:

• Would each bus be considered an individual entity for E-rate purposes (like library book mobiles)?  If so, would they be treated as schools, annexes, or a new type (possibly as a component of a “fleet”)?
• Would portable Wi-Fi equipment, transportable between buses, be eligible?
• Can Wi-Fi equipment be owned or leased (if, for example, if the equipment is owned by a commercial bus company)?
• Will internet services on buses require special filtering?
• How will bus Wi-Fi service contracts and/or maintenance be handled?
• What, if any, unique record retention rules will apply?

Fortunately, as a result of bus Wi-Fi eligibility under the ECF program, we have some experience to serve as a guide in these matters.  But a number of decisions remain to be addressed in the bus Wi-Fi ESL supplement (or beyond).  Stay tuned.

Upcoming Dates:

Senators Propose Social Media Limitations in Schools:

U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R, TX), Ted Budd (R, NC), and Shelley Moore Capito (R, WV) have just introduced new legislation, The Eyes on the Board Act, to limit children’s access to social media at school by requiring schools receiving federal broadband funding (including E-rate and ECF) to prohibit access to social media sites via subsidized networks and devices.  The proposed Act would require schools to limit screen time and require the FCC to create a database of school internet safety policies.

The Senators’ press release notes that while E-rate’s CIPA rules require applicants “to certify that they are using technology protection software to block or filter access to obscenity, child pornography, and other harmful sexual content, there is currently no provision requiring schools to block access to distracting and addictive social media apps or websites.”

SAM.gov Consultants:

ECF applicants, and E-rate applicants filing new or updated Form 498s, are required to have Unique Entity Identifiers (“UEIs”) by registering on the SAM.gov website.  Once registered on SAM.gov, these registrations must be renewed annually.  Eventually, we expect all E-rate applicants will be required to register on SAM.gov and to obtain UEIs.

As many applicants have found, neither SAM.gov registrations nor renewals are an entirely intuitive process.  While most applicants have managed the process themselves, there are a host of consultants capable of helping.  While we use one ourselves, we have found that many such consultants aggressively seek new business, particularly when annual renewals are coming up within the next six months or so.

Those newly registered on SAM.gov can expect to see a flurry of spam warnings of impending doom if their registrations are not renewed on a timely basis, typically from firms with semi-official looking email addresses.  Just within the last two months, we have received offers of help from firms with the following email domains:

• administerforimplement.com
• bettermentrequest.com
• contractoregistrations center.com
• email.samprocessingcenter.com
• entityrenewal.com
• federalresearchcenters.com
• fedfiling.com
• registrationplus.net
• registrationscenter.com
• samfiling.com
• usfcr.com

We are not necessarily suggesting this is a bad thing, but for those not interested in SAM.gov assistance, you might take the time to block all or most of these addresses.  These firms do not give up easily.