Community use
The allowance of community use of e-Rate funded services will broaden the benefit of the program and help realize the goal of bringing broadband access to all Americans. However, these changes do not include services beyond those provided by the school, school district, or library facility after hours, such as wireless services to homes or the surrounding community. Furthermore, the FCC’s order does not require applicants to participate in this rule change.
Web hosting
While the addition of dark fiber is recognized as the biggest change to the ESL, another important announcement was that web hosting remains an eligible service. Web hosting will continue to be eligible for e-Rate discounts in Funding Year 2011. In addition, the eligibility of web hosting has been expanded somewhat to include blogging, chat applications, and similar services. This was an important modification, as applicants have been turning to their web sites as their primary means for disseminating student‐specific and general information to parents and students.
The FCC’s Sixth Report and Order introduced many items that altered the current landscape of the e-Rate program. Keeping abreast of these changes is an important key to e-Rate success. However, it’s just as important to remember the things that didn’t change when preparing for Funding Year 2011.
Nicholas Shipley is a compliance analyst for e-Rate consulting firm Funds For Learning LLC.
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