Changes to the E-rate Program

The FCC recently revised the rules for the E-Rate program which provides subsidies for communications needs at schools and libraries. They made a lot of changes to the program and the rules for filing this year are significantly different than what you might have done in the past. I’ve made a list below of the changes that will most affect carriers and you should become familiar with the revised rules if you participate in the program. Here are some of the key changes to the program from a carrier perspective:

• Extra Funding. There is an additional $1 billion per year set aside for the next two years for what the FCC has called Internal Connections. This means money to bring high-speed Internet from the wiring closet to the rest of the school. This might be new wiring, WiFi or other technologies that distribute high-speed Internet within a school.
• Last Mile Connections. It’s also possible to get funding for what they call WAN / Last-Mile connectivity. This would be fiber built to connect a school to a larger network such as one for a whole school district.
• Stressing High-Speed Connections. The target set by the FCC is that a school should have at least 100 Mbps per 1,000 students and staff in the short run and 1 Gbps access in the long run. It is going to be harder to fund older slower connections even for very few poor schools. As a carrier you need to be planning on how to get connections that meet these requirements to schools if you want to maintain E-rate funding.
• Things No Longer Funded. One of the ways the FCC will fund the expanded emphasis on higher bandwidth is by not funding other items. The fund is going to focus entirely for the next few years on funding things that promote high-speed connections, so they will no longer fund “Circuit Cards/Components; Interfaces, Gateways, Antennas; Servers; Software; Storage Devices; Telephone Components, Video Components, as well as voice over IP or video over IP components, and the components, such as virtual private networks, that are listed under Data Protection other than firewalls and uninterruptible power supply/battery backup. The FCC will also eliminate E-rate support for e-mail, web hosting, and voicemail beginning in funding year 2015”.
• Combining Schools and Libraries. For the first time it will be possible to combine the funding for a school and library that are served by the same connection / network.
• Eliminating Competitive Bidding for Low-Price Bandwidth. A school does not need to go to competitive bid if they can find a connection of at least 100 Mbps that costs $3,600 per year (or $300 per month) or less.
• Eliminating a Technology Plan. There is no Technology Plan now required for applying for Internal Connections (in-school wiring) or for providing WAN connections.
• Simplifying Multi-Year Contracts. Subsequent years after the first year of a multi-year contract will require less paperwork and have a streamlined filing process.
• Simplifying the Discount Calculation. The discount can now be calculated on a per school-district basis and not per school within the district. The FCC adopts the definition from the Census that defines urban areas to be the densely settled core of census tracts or blocks that met minimum population density requirements (50,000 people or more), along with adjacent territories of at least 2,5000 people that link to the densely settled core. “Rural” encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area. Any school district or library system that has a majority of schools or libraries in a rural area that meets the statutory definition of eligibility for E-rate support will qualify for the additional rural discount.
• Requiring Electronic Filings. All filings will need to be electronic, phased in by 2017.

These are a lot of changes to a fairly complex filing process. CCG can help you navigate through these changes. If you have questions or need assistance please contact Terri Firestein of CCG at tfireccg@myactv.net.