FCC Releases Machine-Readable E-rate Data
On October 19, an FCC blog post announced “newly available E-rate program data and the beginning of a process to provide easier access to even more data on the E-rate program.” According to the FCC, the data “includes detailed information on what broadband and other communications services and IT equipment schools requested‚Äî100K unique service requests and 1.4 million records describing recipient schools and libraries, what categories of service they are actually purchasing, and how much they paid, and how much E-Rate program has dispersed.” The data may be downloaded at https://github.com/fccdata/usf_erate_fy2010.
FCC Transfers USAC Audit Oversight >From OIG to Managing Director
On October 19, the Federal Communications Commission released an Order amending certain Part 0 and Part 54 rules. The Order assigned the Office of Managing Director certain oversight activities of the annual audit of USAC which were formerly assigned to the Office of Inspector General. The FCC indicated the OIG has been responsible for overseeing the conduct of the Part 54 audit since 2006, and noted that in 2010, OMD assumed from OIG the responsibility for directing and overseeing USAC’s implementation of the USF Beneficiary and Contributor Audit program.
FCC Appeal Decisions
The FCC released multiple appeal decisions in the past week related to a variety of topics including competitive bidding, program deadlines, and obligation to pay non-discount portion. Appeal decisions include:
