Buried in USAC's latest quarterly report to the FCC are two sentences that many people probably skimmed over, but will have a huge impact on E-rate applicants. From Page 5 of the report:

"...USAC plans to increase validation checks for...Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism beneficiary compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)....The CIPA validation is planned to be operational during 2009."

The FCC just released a memorandum to USAC that further clarifies when they can seek recovery of funds that have already been disbursed and both applicants and service providers can be held responsible depending on who USAC believes is at fault for the non-compliance issue.   The E-rate regulators have already audited close to 500 program beneficiaries and many more are about to get underway. USAC has already sought millions in recovery.

This week, President-elect Obama named Julius Genachowski to head the Federal Communications Commission. Genachowski is generally well regarded by the telecom industry and does have experience within the FCC, which makes things look good for the E-rate program.

The Form 470 posting deadline is this Thursday, if you want to be able to use the service provider selected on your Form 471 for Funding Year 2009. Anyone who's been around E-rate for any amount of time knows that a lot of scrutiny is put on the posting of a Form 470 and the service provider selection process. If you are feeling the pressure of this week's deadline, it's more important than ever to be sure that you are properly completing your Form 470, since you won't have a second chance to post another one after the deadline passes.

So, here are some things that you can do to mess up your Form 470 this week. These are things that you SHOULD NOT do. Doing some of these things may not cause problems for you immediately, but any of them will definitely cause you problems someday: 

One of the more challenging aspects of working within the E-rate program is trying to translate some of the bureaucratic double-talk that comes out of the agencies responsible for E-rate oversight.  The latest Federal Communications Commission Office of Inspector General (FCC OIG) report just muddies the waters of understanding for the logic behind the auditing process from the 2007-2008 audit period. 

It’s a new year and there’s a new administration coming to Washington. I’ve been hearing a lot of questions about how this may impact the E-rate. President-elect Obama has stated that an economic stimulus plan will be his first priority as soon as he is sworn in. However, the details are still in flux and have not been made public. Obama has stated...

The E-rate Blog by Funds For Learning is now online. This blog will be a collection of information, tips, and commentary from FFL E-rate compliance experts and the occasional guest poster to bring you more information about the E-rate program. Watch the E-rate Blog section on the Funds For Learning homepage for updates!