Erate Consultant Houston: 2010

Monday, March 8, 2010

Houston E-rate Settlement

HISD E Rate settlemnt

(U.S. Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) BC-HISD-E-Rate-settlemntTo: NATIONAL EDITORSContact: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs,+1-202-514-2007, TDD: +1-202-514-1888WASHINGTON, March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Houston IndependentSchool District has agreed to relinquish millions of dollars in requests forfederal funds and to pay a total of $850,000 as part of a civil settlementrelating to allegations that the school district violated the False Claims Actin connection with the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) E-Rateprogram, the Justice Department announced today.

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The E-Rate program, which Congress created in the Telecommunications Actof 1996, provides funding for needy schools and libraries to connect to andutilize the Internet. Under the program, which is funded by fees collectedfrom telephone users, schools apply for funds to pay for hardware and monthlyconnectivity service fees. The FCC oversees the E-Rate program.

The United States contended that the Houston Independent School Districtprovided false information to the E-Rate program and otherwise violated theprogram's requirements by engaging in non-competitive bidding practices forE-Rate contracts. The United States further alleged that school districtofficials received gratuities from technology vendors, including trips, mealsand loans.

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"The E-Rate Program provides critical support for Internet access andwiring to the most under-served schools in the country," said Tony West,Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department ofJustice. "We are committed to protecting the integrity of this importantprogram that benefits our neediest children."Assistant Attorney General West noted that the resolution announced todayresulted from an ongoing federal investigation of possible fraud andanti-competitive conduct in the E-Rate program in Texas. The investigation isa collaborative effort involving the Justice Department's Civil Division, theU.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas, and the FCC Officeof the Inspector General.

This settlement with the Houston Independent School District is part ofthe government's aggressive efforts to combat fraud through the use ofpowerful enforcement tools such as the False Claims Act. Since January 2009,the Justice Department's total recoveries in False Claims Act cases havetopped $3 billion.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice-0-(c) 2010 U.S. Newswire Corp.

Friday, March 5, 2010

E-rate Consultant Houston

FCC-Sponsored E-Rate Survey
Harris Interactive, Inc., a national market research firm engaged by the FCC, sent out online surveys last week to a randomly selected group of FY 2008 E-rate applicants. The survey, which includes a number of questions on the applicants, their Internet facilities, and E-rate funding, is part of an FCC effort to address the educational and technological needs of schools and libraries in connection with the FCC's National Broadband Plan.

Completion of the survey is voluntary, but we would encourage selected applicants to respond. Harris Interactive estimates that a survey can be completed in less than 20 minutes. The following is a brief outline of the questions posed in the survey:

Applicant information
Type of applicant, e.g., school, district, library, or consortium
For schools: number of students (and students/computer)
For libraries: number of registered borrowers
Urban vs. rural
E-rate funding in FY 2008
Position of person completing the survey
Types(s) of Internet access connection(s)
Dial-up, T-1, DSL, fiber, wireless, etc.
Bandwidth: current and needed
Equipment used, e.g., PCs, laptops, E-books, smart phones, etc.
Networking, if any, with local, regional, and government entities
Internet usage
Applications, current and future
Barriers to effective usage, e.g., outdated computers, lack of staff training, unavailable bandwidth, costs, etc.
E-rate funding
Services supported by E-rate, with focus on Telecommunications and Internet access services
Funding history and discount rate
Funding received in FY 2008 by category and service types
Use of outside consultants
Although the survey is relatively straight-forward, the following two points should be noted:

When asking about FY 2008 funding, the survey does not clearly indicate whether the amount "received" is meant to apply to all funds awarded or to actual funds disbursed. Our recommendation is to report the amount of funds actually used - estimating, if appropriate, any discounts that have not yet been invoiced, but that are expected to be used and received. The easiest way to review an applicant's funding history is to use E-Rate Central's Funding Quick Search tool located in the upper left-hand corner of the appropriate State Information page.
Individual applicant surveys have been e-mailed to the associated contact people. In some cases, however, these contacts (e.g., consultants) may be responsible for multiple applicants. Unfortunately, there is no indication in the e-mails identifying the specific applicants — a critical factor if the results of these random surveys are to be statistically valid. Contacts in these situations should seek additional clarification from Harris Interactive.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Erate Consultant Houston

On February 8, 1996 President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This law represents the first comprehensive revision of the USA's communications laws in more than 60 years. The universal service section of this law, Section 254, will help schools and libraries obtain access to state of the art services and technologies at discounted rates. The FCC, through its decision-making-process, shapes the policy that will bring about this increase in access to technology. An up-to-date list of links to universal service related Commission documents is maintained on the FCC's Universal Service Home Page. Additional information is also available in the FCC document Frequently Asked Questions on Universal Service and the Snowe-Rockefeller Amendment.
The "universal service" system was originally designed to make local telephone service available to all Americans at reasonable rates. In many cases, universal service policies have required that rates for certain telecommunications services be set above the cost of providing those services to generate a subsidy that could be used to reduce the rates for local service provided to residential customers. Many other federal and state programs are presently used to ensure universal service.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 calls for a revision of the universal service system. The revision must expand boththe base of companies that contribute to offset communications service rates and the category of customers who benefit from discounts. Schools, libraries, and health care providers as well as residential and rural customers will be the primary universal service beneficiaries.
The new law requires that the FCC and the states base the revision of the universal service system on seven principles,including the principle that elementary and secondary schools, libraries, and health care providers should have access to advanced telecommunications services.
The Snowe-Rockefeller-Exon-Kerrey AmendmentIn addition to the seven broad principles, a provision of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that was sponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe, Jay Rockefeller, James Exon, and Bob Kerrey, directly addresses schools' and libraries' access to communications services. This provision specifies that, upon request, individual telecommunications carriers must provide service to schools and libraries at "affordable" rates. The amount of the associated discount is to be reimbursed by the newly established universal service system that is required by the 1996 Act.
FCC Timeline on Universal ServiceThe FCC has issued numerous documents pertaining to the universal service proceeding. A complete list of links to these documents are maintained on the FCC's Universal Service Home Page.
On March 8, 1996 the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. [ News Release Text Version WordPerfect Version ]. Comments on this proposal were received April 12, 1996, reply comments on May 7, 1996. In addition, two Public Notices were released. The first, dated July 3, 1996, asked 72 questions [Text Version WordPerfect Version ]. The second, dated July 10, 1996, sought comment regarding proxy cost models [Text Version WordPerfect Version ]. Responses were due August 2nd and 9th, respectively. These documents asked questions such as what types of communications services should be made available to schools at discounted rates, and how to determine an appropriate level of discount.
The public responses to the FCC's questions on universal service were reviewed by a Joint Board composed of federal and state communications commissioners and a utility consumer advocate. This board was formed, as required by the Act, to issue recommendations to the FCC concerning universal service policy generally, including those aspects related to education. The Joint Board issued its Recommendations on November 7, 1996. On November 18, 1996 the FCC issued an additional Public Notice containing questions related to the Board's recommendations. Comments were received by December 16, 1996, and reply comments by January 10, 1997.
On May 8, 1997 the Commission released the major Report and Order implementing the Telecom Act's Universal Service Provisions [ News Release Order ]. An up-to-date list of links to universal service related Commission documents that have been released since this order was released is maintained on the FCC's Universal Service Home Page.