[Erate] E-Rate Central News for the Week of April 18, 2005

Tue Apr 26 11:30:09 PDT 2005

E-Rate Central News for the Week of April 18, 2005

*	Wave 17 Funding for FY 2004
*	Distance Learning and E-Rate

	The E-Rate Central News for the Week, prepared by E-Rate
Central, is sponsored by the State E-Rate Coordinators' Alliance ("SECA
<http://www.e-ratecentral.com> ").  Official SLD news is provided in the
"Important Notices" section of the SLD's Web site
<http://www.sl.universalservice.org>
(http://www.sl.universalservice.org).  Additional E-rate information and
archived copies of this newsletter are located on the E-Rate Central Web
site <http://www.e-ratecentral.com>  (http://www.e-ratecentral.com).

*	Wave 17 Funding for FY 2004

		Wave 17 for FY 2004 is scheduled for release on Tuesday,
April 19, 2005.  This wave is comprised of almost 140 awards totaling
$46 million.  Total funding now stands at $1.94 billion.

		The funding level for Internal Connections remains
static at 81%.  Normally, by this time in the funding year, there would
be greater visibility on the ultimate level of Priority 2 funding.  We
have now been expecting a reduction in the funding threshold to at least
80% for over a month.

		One possibility for the delay this year is the overhang
of the Anti-Deficiency Act ("ADA").  Although the E-rate program was
temporarily exempted from the ADA last December, that exemption is set
to expire December 31, 2005.  If the ADA is again applied to E-rate next
year, then last year's delayed funding problems are likely to resurface.
Under ADA rules, the SLD is not able to issue new funding commitments
unless its cash reserves exceed the total amount of unused funding
awards already committed.

		Legislation to permanently exempt E-rate (and other
Universal Service funds) from ADA was recently introduced in the Senate.
Senate hearings on this legislation were held last week.  Without an
ongoing ADA exemption, new funding commitments in 2006 would be limited
to otherwise uncommitted cash.  Given the possible expiration of the
temporary ADA exemption, the FCC appears to be taking a conservative
stance.  This may be delaying a final decision on FY 2004 Internal
Connections funding.

*	Distance Learning and E-Rate

	Last month's House committee hearings on E-rate again referenced
a federal statistic indicating that 93% of public school classrooms now
have Internet access, leading some congressmen to suggest that E-rate
may no longer be needed.  Such a position, of course, ignores the
following points:
(1)	The Internet access statistic, even if correct, does not take
into account speed of access.  Without broadband connections, the
Internet is of limited educational use in a classroom environment.
(2)	The initial cost of bringing high-speed Internet into a
classroom pales in comparison with the monthly recurring costs of such
services.  To initially encourage schools and libraries to migrate to
more costly, but more educationally effective, broadband services, and
then to eliminate support for the recurring charges would appear to be
counter-productive.
(3)	More broadly, the initial purpose of E-rate, as set forth in the
Telecommunications Act of 1998, was to promote access to advanced
telecommunications services, not just Internet access.

	An excellent example of the benefits of advanced and
higher-speed telecommunications services can be found in the expanding
use of distance learning.  An extensive report, entitled "Distance
Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary Students:
2002-03," was recently released by the U.S. Department of Education (see
http://www.nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005010 or DOE
Report).  The study makes several interesting points as summarized
below:
(1)	A nationwide survey showed that 9% of public schools (and 36% of
public school districts) reported students enrolled in distance-ed
courses during the 2002-2003 school year.
(2)	Grade-wise, the greatest use was at the high school level.
Geographically, the greatest use was in rural areas and in the southeast
and central sections of the country.
(3)	72% of those offering distance-ed courses planned to expand
offerings in the future.
(4)	Popular subjects for distance-ed included foreign languages, AP
or college-level, and other often hard-to-staff courses.
(5)	Two-way interactive video, requiring high-bandwidth services,
was the most popular means of delivery.

	The E-rate community needs to make Congress aware of the many
advantages of advanced telecommunications and other technology services.
The importance of E-rate goes well beyond a count of the number of
classrooms with some degree of Internet access.

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Disclaimer: This newsletter may contain unofficial information on
prospective E-rate developments and/or may reflect E-Rate Central's own
interpretations of E-rate practices and regulations. Such information is
provided for planning and guidance purposes only. It is not meant, in
any way, to supplant official announcements and instructions provided by
either the SLD or the FCC.

Patricia K. Middelburg, MEd, PMP
Project Manager and State E-rate Coordinator
Department of Administrative Services
Information Resources Management Division
955 Center Street NE, U510
Salem, OR 97301-2558
Telephone:  503.373.1365
Fax:  503.378.8333
pat.middelburg at das.state.or.us

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