Greetings, Please see the FCC news bulletin regarding Thursday's meeting in Washington: http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-continues-e-rate-reboot-meet-nations-digital.... This order takes additional steps to ensure high-speed broadband connectivity to schools and libraries, particularly schools and libraries in rural areas. The order provides: * Additional flexibility for schools and libraries seeking to purchase affordable, high-speed broadband connections. Specifically to provide applicants more options to pay for non-recurring construction costs. It suspends the multiyear amortization policy and allows applicants to pay the non-discount portion of non-recurring construction costs over multiple years. * Beginning in funding year 2016, it also equalizes program rules for dark fiber and allows e-rate applicants to self-construct high-speed broad band facilities when self-construction is the most cost-effective option, with appropriate safeguards consistent with rules already applicable to the commission's healthcare connect fund. * It also provides an additional discount of up to 10% to match state funding for self-construction charges for last mile facilities with special consideration to schools and libraries, * Requires recipients of high-cost funding to offer high-speed broadband to schools and libraries located in the geographic area where the provider receives high-cost support at rates reasonably comparable to similar services in urban areas. Next, the order addresses the e-rate program's ongoing funding needs. * It increases the predictability of funding for connectivity within schools and libraries by expanding the five-year budget approach for category two internal connections through funding year 2019. * The order increases the e-rate funding cap by $1.5 billion to $3.9 billion, plus annual inflationary changes. * The order also directs USAC to establish a performance management system to assess the effectiveness of the program's administration. * Finally, the order on reconsideration adopts a more inclusive definition of rural so that a school or library located in an area with a population of less than 25,000 will be considered rural to ensure that additional funding is targeted to areas where e-indicate services are more costly. The order dismisses petitions seeking reconsideration of the commission's: * 10-year document retention rule * The immediate phase-out of support for voice components * The decision not to allow multi-year or conditional commitments. * It further clarifies the cost effectiveness test for individual data plans and the cost allocation requirements for circuits carrying VoIP services. Sonya Schryer Norris Library Consultant and Plinkit Coordinator Library of Michigan 517-373-4457 http://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan http://www.mel.org<http://www.mel.org/> http://www.michlibrary.org<http://www.michlibrary.org/> Invest in a child's future today. Support the MDE Culture of Reading. www.michigan.gov/cultureofreading<http://www.michigan.gov/cultureofreading> [Culture of Reading-A (2)]
