On January 22 the SLD notified 3 applicants and 11 service providers about the status of their applications committing $95,287.  Nearly $87,000 was for priority one services and the last FY 2004 funding wave was in June 2008.  The SLD has committed $2.24 billion and only has $39 million pending in FY 2004 and reported to the FCC on September 30, 2008 that they only had 59 potentially fundable applications left.

Today, the USAC Schools and Libraries Committee held its quarterly board meeting and approved a measure to recommend to the FCC  that they deny all Priority Two FY 2008 priority two requests at 86% and below.  Once approved by the FCC, the SLD will begin notifying applicants that have requests at or below 86%. The current approval threshold is 88%, leaving those requests at 87% remaining to be decided.

EDMOND, OKLA. (Jan. 22, 2009) – This year Okaloosa County School District received more than $500,000 in funding for vital telecommunications services through the E-rate program.  Randy Shipman, Coordinator of Systems for Okaloosa County School District, secured this technology funding for the district with assistance from E-rate Manager for Applicants, an online suite of tools developed by Funds For Learning, LLC.

On March 8, 2006 USAC asked the FCC for formal guidance on when to recover funds in situations that were not specifically covered in previous FCC Orders.  The FCC released a memorandum to USAC today which further clarifies that there are now certain cases when USAC is allowed to recover funds and other circumstances that facts might warrant recovery, but USAC will have to delve deeper into the specific issues.

The number of Forms 470 that were posted in advance of FY 2009 is nearly identical to last year, according to an analysis by Funds For Learning. A total of 31,135 Forms 470 were posted since August 6, 2008 through January 15, 2009. This compares to 31,310 that were posted leading up to Funding Year 2008.

In their January 16, 2009 News Brief, USAC published detailed eligibility requirements for Priority 1 Voice Over IP (VoIP) services.  Although the eligibility of VoIP services has not changed since the 2008 Eligible Services List, Funds For Learning has observed a substantial amount of confusion among E-rate stakeholders as to what types of "managed VoIP services" qualify for Priority 1 funding.

FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin announced his resignation from the Federall Communications Commission effective January 20. This move was expected in order to make room for President-elect Obama's choice of Julius Genachowski to head the Federal Communications Commission.

The House Appropriations Committee yesterday released details of President-elect Obama’s stimulus recovery package. The plan calls for $275 billion in tax cuts and $550 billion in new and targeted spending.  As the legislation moves through Congress the funding levels could change or new programs added or removed from the economic recovery bill.

Part of President-elect Obama’s plan for technology includes Universal Service reforms and a commitment to bring ‘next generation broadband’ to schools and libraries. The plan, which covers a wide array of technology topics, also indicates that Obama will seek to redefine ‘broadband’ from 200 kbps to ‘speeds demanded by 21st century business and communications.’

This week, the SLD resumed issuing funding for Funding Year 2008 with a wave for 622 applicants across the country. This wave, the 33rd of the year, includes $31.5 million in commitments for Priority One and $30 million in commitments for Priority Two requests.