Craig J. Nichols, Secretary

E-Rate 2.0: Reforming E-Rate for a New Digital Era

Bridget DuffState E-Rate Coordinator

Division of Telecommunications, DMS

Overview of E-Rate Program

Began January 1998

Eligible K-12 schools and libraries receive discounts of 20% - 90% on eligible:

• Priority 1: ConnectivityTelecommunicationsInternet Access

• Priority 2: Internal Infrastructure Internal Connections IC Maintenance

Overview of E-Rate Program

Funding Year: July 1- June 30Annual Process

• Procurement: Form 470 - Competitive Bidding, Eligible Services & Vendors, Vendor Selection, Contracts• Application: Form 471 – Category of Service, Discount

Calculation, Cost Allocation, P1 vs. P2• Review: Response to PIA, Documentation • Invoicing: SPI vs. BEAR

Procurement Application Review Decision Invoicing $$$

History of E-rate Reform

March 2010: National

Broadband Plan

Released

December 2010: FCC Adopts

Significant E-rate

Reforms

June 2013: President Obama

Announces ConnectED

July 2013: FCC releases

E-rate 2.0 NPRM

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National Broadband Plan

March 2010, the National Broadband Plan (NBBP) was released by the FCC.

http://www.broadband.gov/plan

376 pages: set broad national broadband goals for education, government, consumers, homeland security, health care, and energy.

Education section Twelve E-rate recommendations, most of which are in E-

rate 2.0 NPRM.

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September 2010: FCC released Sixth Report & Order

Allowed applicants to lease fiber from any provider (not just telecommunications carriers)

Allowed applicants to lease existing dark fiber

Allowed community to use E-rate eligible services after hours – on school campus

Allowed E-rate funded services to be provided to most K-12 dorms

Created one year pilot program that provided funding for off-campus wireless connectivity through mobile devices

Allowed for annual inflation adjustment to E-rate funding cap (FY 2013: $2.25B + $130M=$2.38B)

Eliminated tech plan requirement for Priority 1 services

Interim E-rate Reforms

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ConnectED

June 2013: President Obama introduced the ConnectED initiative: Within 5 years, connect 99% of schools to 100 mbps, with a target of 1

Gbps Provide high-speed wireless connectivity within all schools and

libraries

Called on the FCC to make this happen. FCC can change E-rate without Congressional approval

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E-rate 2.0 NPRM July 2013: FCC released E-rate 2.0 Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking (NPRM) Massive document containing 175 pages 616 questions and 357 ideas on which comments were requested

NPRM divided into six categoriesI. Introduction II. Goals and Measures III. Ensuring schools and libraries have affordable access to 21st century broadband that supports digital learning IV. Maximizing the cost-effectiveness of E-rate funds V. Streamlining the administration of the program VI. Other outstanding issues

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E-rate 2.0 NPRM General Seventeen major issues/topics being considered.

FCC seeking feedback from the applicant/vendor community

Some of the topics are actual proposals; others are issues for which they are seeking comments– Requests for data

Initial comments were due September 16; reply comments due October 16

FCC reads all comments; especially fond of real world school and library submissions

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Treat Lit and Dark Fiber Equally FCC proposes to treat lit and dark fiber more consistently by

making modulating electronics and special construction charges eligible as part of dark fiber (as it now does for lit fiber)Asks many questions related to fiber deployment:

What are barriers to fiber deployment? Should E-rate support the purchase of WANs if it’s more cost

effective than leasing? Should one-time installation costs receive a higher discount? Can the FCC do anything to reduce recurring costs over time by

altering any of its policies? Should Eligible Services List be amended to include additional

equipment that is needed for broadband connectivity within buildings?

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Make Broadband Priority One

2011 FCC survey data indicates that 80% of applicants surveyed said they did not have sufficient bandwidth

FCC proposes to update E-rate priorities so that high-capacity broadband and the associated equipment needed to disseminate that broadband to and within buildings becomes Priority One

All other services would become Priority Two or phased out altogether What different or additional services should be considered eligible such

as filtering, caching and network security services, etc?

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Revise Eligible Services List

FCC proposes to phase out support for a number of specific services including: • Paging• wireless text messaging• directory assistance• custom calling features• inside wiring maintenance plans• call blocking• 800 number services.

When should such changes be made? FY 2014?

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CIPAFCC seeks comment on several CIPA related questions,

including:

• Are laptops, netbooks with Internet access, smartphones, and Internet enabled e-readers considered computers that must comply with CIPA?

• Are personally owned devices that are not owned by schools and libraries required to be CIPA compliant when used on-campus?

• Are school-owned devices used off campus and used with outside networks required to be CIPA compliant?

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Establish Connectivity Goals

The State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has set the following goals:• INTERNET connectivity goal of 100 Mb per 1000 users by

2014 (increasing to 1 Gb per 1000 users by 2017)• WAN connectivity goal of 10 Gb per 1000 users by 2017

Should the FCC adopt these goals? Are these targets appropriate for all schools? How are schools’ bandwidth needs changing, particularly in those

schools that have one-to-one initiatives? What should the goals be for schools that have very few students? How should the FCC measure and monitor progress to such goals? Should applicants have to install monitoring equipment to identify

how much bandwidth they are actually using?

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Streamline E-rate

FCC proposes several options for streamlining the administration of the E-rate program, including: • Requiring all forms and USAC correspondence to be

submitted/sent electronically • Providing more detailed and comprehensive funding statuses

throughout the application process • Speeding review of applications and issuance of commitment

decisions (asks commenters to explain problems they have had during PIA review process)

• Removing distinction between telecommunications services and Internet access

• More effectively identifying and capturing unused funds (why do funds go unused and how can USAC identify and de-obligate those funds more quickly?)

• Streamlining the E-rate appeals review process 16

Change Funding Distribution

FCC seeks comment on four major options for revising the distribution of E-rate funds:

I. Revising the discount matrix to increase certain applicants’ matching requirements through a phase-in process

What should the maximum E-rate discount be? 70%? 75%? Should all of the discount bands be adjusted downward by a certain

percentage? Should the discount matrix be abandoned in lieu of a discount

calculated as NSLP percentage plus 20% (urban) or 25% (rural)?

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Change Funding Distribution

FCC seeks comment on four major options for revising the distribution of E-rate funds:

II. Incorporating a per-student or per-building cap on funding into the discount matrix.

What would those caps be? Should they apply to both Priority 1 and Priority 2 funding? Should installation fees be excluded from the calculation? Should there be a di minimus amount funding available? How would consortia apply using a per-student cap?

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Change Funding Distribution

FCC seeks comment on four major options for revising the distribution of E-rate funds:

III. Providing more equitable access to Priority 2 funding How can the FCC ensure more applicants have access to P2

funding Should the 2/5 rule be replaced with another rule, such as a

1/5 rule? Should P2 be funded on a rolling-funding cycle? Should there be different priorities established, such as a

broadband/Internet P1 category and other service (such as voice) become Priority 2 (or some other priority)?

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Change Funding Distribution

FCC seeks comment on four major options for revising the distribution of E-rate funds:

IV. Allocating funds through a fixed dollar amount before the funding year begins

How would this amount be calculated for libraries? How would it be calculated for schools? How would this work with consortia? What would the reporting requirements be?

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Change Funding Distribution

FCC proposes two major revisions to E-rate discount calculations:

Change E-rate discount calculations to be based on a simple average of District’s NSLP enrollment Current formula is a weighted average approach that uses each

school building’s discount as part of the calculation

Change definition of rural to ensure greater funding to truly rural areas by using NCES codes Should the definition be based on ‘rural’ or ‘remote-rural’ areas? Should the rural schools and libraries receive a greater discount

than they currently receive and should the rural factor also be incorporated into the highest discount bands?

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Increase Funding Cap FCC seeks comment on whether to increase the

annual $2.25B funding cap (temporarily or permanently) to ensure high capacity broadband connectivity to and within schools and libraries

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Reform Competitive Bidding The FCC seeks comments on how to reform the competitive

bidding process:

• What are reasons that applicants do not receive multiple bids? • How can they reduce the number of applicants that don’t receive

multiple bids?• Does the Lowest Corresponding Price Rule help ensure that applicants

receive cost-effective prices?• Should applicants be exempted from the Form 470 bidding process if

they have complied with state procurement rules or if their total E-rate funding is below a certain amount?

• Should applicants be required to submit all competitive bidding documentation with their Form 471s or should they be required to submit a bid evaluation sheet?

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Reform Competitive Bidding (CONT)

Does the current system provide enough information to vendors to formulate bids?

Should all state master contracts automatically be deemed E-rate eligible even if they were not procured under the E-rate competitive bidding system?

Should the deadline for signing contracts with vendors be revised to make it easier to comply with E-rate deadlines?

Should technical assistance be offered by USAC to help applicants figure out cost effective pricing options and/or planning and procuring cost effective networks?

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Increase Consortia/Bulk Buying

The FCC seeks comment on ways to increase consortium purchasing Does consortia purchasing reduce costs? How should the FCC encourage more consortia and other types of bulk

buying opportunities? Should applicants be required to buy from state or regional master

contracts Should the FCC or USAC establish a bulk buying program?

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Increase Transparency FCC proposes to increase the transparency and seeks

comments on the following:Transparency of E-rate spending

◦ How can the FCC increase transparency with respect to how E-rate funds are allocated and spent?

Transparency of prices available for E-rate supported services ◦ How can the FCC best increase the transparency of prices for E-rate

supported services?Transparency of prices being bid for E-rate supported services

◦ Should the FCC consider making bid responses public or at least accessible to other E-rate applicants?

Transparency of actual purchase prices ◦ As an alternative to requiring public disclosure of all bids to provide E-rate

services, should the FCC make available the prices applicants are paying for E-rate supported services?

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Direct Payments to Applicants

FCC proposes to permit schools and libraries to receive BEAR reimbursement checks directly from USAC and not have to pass through the respective service providers

Should invoicing deadlines be more rigid in order to recapture and reuse unspent funds?

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Permit Multi-year 471s

FCC proposes to have PIA only review the first year of a three year contract, provided there was no changes to the contract or recipients of service in the second and third years of contract. In the second and third years, applicants would still have to request E-

rate funding via the Form 471, but their contracts would not be subject to PIA review. Should FCC also consider multi-year funding commitments? Should applicants only be permitted to sign contracts up to three years in

length?

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Expand Document Retention FCC proposes to extend the E-rate program

document retention requirements from five to at least ten years and seeks comments on the benefits and burdens of doing so

Should applicants and vendors be required to keep records of all communications relating to bids for and purchases of E-rate services/equipment?

Should the additional retention period only be required on an “as-notified” basis?

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Permit Community Wireless Hotspots

Should E-rate support be available for off-site Internet access for students and the general public through “community wireless hot spots?”

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Restrict Authorized Signatories

The FCC proposes to require E-rate applications to be signed by a person with authority equivalent to that of a corporate officer (presumably this is to eliminate E-rate consultants from signing forms)

The FCC proposes to require a corporate officer of the service provider sign certain forms submitted to USAC

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Filing Comments with the FCC

Comments should:• Include your organization’s name and date on each

page• Use a table of contents, regardless of the length of the

submission • Track the organization set forth in the NPRM in order to

facilitate or internal review process (i.e., refer to paragraph numbers from the NPRM) • Begin with a short and concise summary of your

argument• Be submitted in .PDF format

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Filing Comments w/the FCC

To submit your comments, go to: http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/upload/display?z=xj9g5

Click ‘Submit a Filing’ at the top left under ECFS Main Links.

That will take you to an input page, asking for contact information. ◦ Proceeding # is 13-184

Helpful filing guide available at:http://e-ratepa.org/erate_2oh.htm

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Questions?

DMS E-Rate Assistance Team

Bridget Duffbridget.duff@dms.myflorida.com850-921-1650

Adolfo Arauzadolfo.arauz@dms.myflorida.com850-921-1651

Lauren Harrislauren.harris@dms.myflorida.com850-922-7503