On February 7, 2014, the USAC Schools and Libraries Committee recommended that no priority two Form 471 applications be approved. It typically takes the FCC a few weeks to approve this recommendation and FY 2013 was the second consecutive year where the requested amount for priority one services exceeded the funding cap.
The FCC has stated that a key objective was to provide more support for internal connections and had mentioned that goal specifically in the National Broadband Plan. FY 2013 is the first year where there will be no support for any priority two projects and without structural changes there may not be any priority two projects funded in FY 2014. However, the FCC Commissioners have stressed the importance of providing infrastructure support to schools and libraries and it is likely the FCC will release a Public Notice in order for stakeholders to comment on specific issues where this issue could be addressed further.
