FCC Seeks Comment on E-rate Category Two Budgets

With this Public Notice the Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on the sufficiency of budgets for category two services under the E-rate program (more formally known as the schools and libraries universal service support program). In the E-rate Modernization Orders, the Commission adopted five-year, pre-discount budgets for schools and libraries. When the Commission adopted these rules in 2014, it established a five-year test period to allow the Commission to determine whether the applicant budgets were effective in ensuring greater access to E-rate funding for internal connections. The Commission directed the Bureau to report on the sufficiency of these applicant budgets before the filing window for funding year 2019 opens. In particular, the Commission directed the Bureau to use FCC Form 471 data from funding years 2015 through 2018 to analyze trends across different types of applicants or regions in the nation, particularly schools that serve students with special education services.

In preparation for this report, we seek comment on the sufficiency of the category two budgets. Specifically, we seek comment from applicants, service providers, and other interested parties about how applicants have used their budgets and the percentage of category two services purchased by applicants that were or will be covered by the budget. Interested parties may file comments on or before October 23, 2017 and reply comments on or before November 7, 2017. Comments and reply comments should reference WC Docket No. 13-184.