---

Organizations

GovernmentalOrganizations

 

• The Joint Board on Universal Service
• National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA)
• Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)

 

Private Sector Organizations

Public Sector Organizations

•  HITN Broadcast on Universal Service Funding

Back to Top 

---

Documents

• Federal Communications Commission home page. A wide variety of information from the FCC including information on Universal Service is available from this location.
• FCC's May 8 Report and Order, and June 4 Errata. This link allows you to view and/or download the entire document.
• Federal Universal Service Regulations for libraries and K-12 schools - This version is from the original May 8th Report and Order as amended by a 4 June 1997 Errata, 10 July 1997 Order on Reconsideration, 18 July 1997 Report and Order and Second Order on Reconsideration, 14 October 1997 Third Report and Order, 3 December 1997 Erratum, 16 December 1997 Third Order on Reconsideration and 30 December Fourth Order on Reconsideration, Report and Order.
• FCC's Universal Service Programs for Low-Income Consumers
• V.I.I. Universal Service Forum part of the Virtual Institute of Information.
• A Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Universal service for Telecommunications in the perspective of fully liberalised environment. This document includes discussion on the current concept of Universal service in telecommunications in the European Community, issues for the evolution of universal service in the short term, the evolution of universal service for telecommunications and access to advanced services in the context of the information society. [March 13 1996]
• Universal Service presentation for the Tennessee Department of Education. [August 25 1997]
• The Universal Service Homepage from the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) Common Carrier Bureau (CCB).
• The Universal Service Fund from Merit Network, Inc. which sponsors a number of projects that benefit K-12 educators and students in Michigan. [March 8, 1998]
• The Benton Foundation has produced a series of reports called "What's at Stake," including one on Universal Service. The foundation also has a number of other related documents and reports in Universal Service and Universal Access Virtual Library.
• The Education and Library Networks Coalition (EdLiNC) maintains a page called the E-rate Hotline with information about the educational rate and related discounts. EdLiNC's homepage also has a great deal of Universal Service Information.
• Universal Service Positions as part of the Universal Service to Universal Access report from the Arizona Governor's Telecommunication Policy Office.
• Olsen Thielen Universal Service Site is maintained by the Olsen Thielen & Co., Ltd., a CPA firm in Minnesota.
• REMCen's Universal Service Fund Links is maintained by Regional Educational Media Center (REMC) of Central Michigan University.
• TIPS:Universal Service Fund from the Technology Information and Planning Site sponsored by NYSERNet, Inc.
• NTIA's Guide to Universal Service from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. [June 24, 1997]
• Dave Yuska's Universal Access project has links to a variety of documents, commentary and other related sites covering universal service.
• Universal Access to E-Mail: Feasibility and Societal Implications by Robert H. Anderson, Tora K. Bikson, Sally Ann Law, Bridger M. Mitchell is the well cited RAND report discussing email as a universal service.
• Creating a Level Playing Field for Campus Computing: Universal Access Recent articles and reports stress that universal access to technology in schools is vital for preparing students for future challenges in the workplace and society. In "Creating a Level Playing Field for Campus Computing: Universal Access" (SYLLABUS, vol. 11, no. 6, February 1998, pp. 12, 14, 29, 44), Glen McCandless describes universal access in higher education and outlines the major issues that are preventing the realization of it: who pays, its impact on student enrollments, faculty resistance to change, and the freedom from imposed standards in academe. An excerpt from the article is available on the Web.
• The public utilities Telecom list server
• EU says phone services gradually improving
• Vote Could Mean Telecommunications Discounts for Education
• Learning the Ropes: A New Telecommunications Era in Rural America [July 15, 1997] by Vicki M. Hobbs. Expanded from the August, 1997 issue of NRDP News, the National Rural Development Partnership.
• GETTING CONNECTED in Washington State provides Federal Universal Service Fund Discounts and Subsidies for Schools, Libraries & Rural Health Care Providers from the Washington State Department of Information Services.
• The Costs, Benefits and Funding of Universal Service in the UK a Analysys report for Oftel.

Speeches by FCC Chairman Reed Hundt which cover universal service:
• Remarks at Universal Service Admin. Co. Inaugural Meeting, 9/22/97
• Summary of above)Challeges Universal Service Adm. Directors, 9/22/97
• Statement on Recommended Decision of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service
• Opening Remarks, Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, WDC, 4/12/96
• Universal Access Project, WDC, 10/27/95

Back to Top 

Legislation

Enacted Legislation

Statutes

• Telecommunications Act of 1996 - See Section 254, Universal Service.
• Library Services and Technology Act
• Section 10 of the FCC's May 8, 1997 Order and Report on Universal Service. This includes the Report section that deals specifically with support for schools and libraries.
• Section 11 of the FCC's May 8, 1997 Order and Report on Universal Service. This includes the Report section that deals specifically with support for rural health care.
• Third Order on Reconsideration - This order cuts back the contributions of telecommunication carriers to the Schools and Libraries as well as the Rural Health Care portions of the Universal Service Support program during the first six months of 1998. The ceiling for withdrawing from the fund remains at $2.25 billion. - Issued December 16, 1997.
• Third Report and Order on Universal Service for Schools and Libraries - Outlines details on a window filing period to facilitate equal priority, delegates specific authority to the administrative corporations, and changes the trigger mechanism which determines an organization's "place in line" for receiving discounts. Released October 10, 1997.
• FCC Administrative Changes - includes the Report and Order and Second Order on Reconsideration (the FCC's direction on creation of three administrative corporations to administer USF support mechanisms). Also includes the Order's corresponding rules and a draft USF worksheet for contributors.
• FCC's Order on Reconsideration (July 10, 1997; CC Docket 96-45) - Changes and/or clarifications to the FCC's May 8 Order and Report. A short summary of this order with respect to the school and library portions was prepared by Merit.

Back to Top 

Law Cases

Case Law

• United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT No. 96-3604 Before BOWMAN, WOLLMAN, and HANSEN, Circuit Judges. ___________ BOWMAN, Circuit Judge. Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel) petitions for review of a portion of a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) order that interprets the Telecommunications Act of 1996, see First Report and Order, Implementation of the Local Competition Provisions in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, CC Docket No. 96- 98 (Aug. 8, 1996)
• U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals IOWA UTILITIES BOARD v FCC No. 963321B Iowa Utilities Board, et al, Petitioners, v. Federal Communications Commission, et al, Respondents. On Petitions for Review of an Order of the Federal Communications Commission. Submitted: January 17, 1997 Filed: July 18, 1997. Before BOWMAN, WOLLMAN and HANSEN, Circuit Judges.
• U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals PREFERRED COMM. v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES, 13 F.3d 1327 (9th Cir. 1994) PREFERRED COMMUNICATIONS, INC., PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES; DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER, DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES. PREFERRED COMMUNICATIONS, INC., PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES; DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER, DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS. PREFERRED COMMUNICATIONS, INC., PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES; DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER, DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES. PREFERRED COMMUNICATIONS, INC., PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES; DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER, DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS. Nos. 91-55625, 91-55665, 91-56261 and 91-56269. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted June 8, 1993. Decided January 7, 1994.
• U.S. DC Circuit Court of Appeals MELCHER JAMES L. v FCC United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Argued January 16, 1998 Decided February 6, 1998 No. 93-1110 James L. Melcher, et al., Petitioners v. Federal Communications Commission and United States of America, Respondents CellularVision USA, Inc., et al., Intervenors.
• United States Court of Appeals for the eighth circuit No. 96-3321 Submitted: January 17, 1997 Filed: July 18, 1997 Before BOWMAN, WOLLMAN and HANSEN, Circuit Judges.

Back to Top 

Chronology

• What is the Goldsmith Modification Model Anyway? - A description in plain English written by Eric Grandstaff, NCMC.
• National School Locator - A prototype search tool that quickly locates your school district or NCES code (a field on USF applications). Sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics.
• Title I - Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 - An approved alternative measure of poverty for determining a district's need, and subsequent USF discount category (34 C.F.R. § 200.28(a)(2)(I)(B)).
• Goldsmith Modification Model Strategy Paper - the theory used in developing the Goldsmith Modification Model which identifies rural areas within urban counties.

Back to Top 

Glossary

Back to Top 

In The News

      Articles

• Common Carrier Bureau Seeks Comment on Program to Monitor Impacts of Universal Service Support Mechanisms (DA 98-580). [ Acrobat - with forms ] 4/27/98
• Universal Service Administrative Company's (USAC) filing for the second quarter of 1998 is now available in the new Quarterly Administrative Filings Section of this page. USAC's filing includes a listing of eligible telecommunications carriers, a listing of high cost support by study area, and a textual summary of projected demand and expenses for high cost and low income support mechanisms 4/21/98. 
• NRRI has released a study by David Gabel of Queens College that includes estimates of the forward-looking cost of switches using data obtained from the Common Carrier Bureau and other inputs for use in proxy cost models. This study can be accessed on NRRI's home page. 4/17/98
• Commission submits Report to Congress on Universal Service. (CC Docket No. 96-45, FCC

 98-67)  4/10/98
• Commission Revises Universal Service Collection Amounts For the First Six Months of 1998 to Better Correspond With Anticipated Demand
• Universal Service Policy in the United States: Where Do We Go from Here?
• "Universal service" and the new Telecommunications Act: Mythology Made Law by Milton Mueller at Rutgers University SCILS. To be published in the March 1997 issue of Communications of the ACM.
• Myths and Facts about the FCC's Universal Service and Access Reform Decisions, 12/12/97 Update.
• Service Provider Identification Numbers (SPINs)
• On December 30, 1997 the FCC issued a "Fourth Order on Reconsideration, Report and Order" (FCC 97-420). This order clarifies and makes modifications to the regulations and procedures for Universal Service Support to schools, libraries and rural health care providers as well as to other parts of the Universal Service support program. A press release from the FCC, a summary from Merit, a summary from the ALA, Questions and Answers in PDF format from the SLC, the Order itself in Word Perfect and Zip formats as well as updated versions of the federal regulations on Universal Service for schools and libraries and for rural health care providers are available on the Web.
• FCC Application and Certification Forms for Schools and Libraries - FCC Form 470, "Description of Services Requested and Certification," and FCC Form 471, "Services Ordered and Certification" are now available. These forms have been approved by OMB. Released December 17, 1997.
• Three new documents from the SLC are available from NECA that clarify a variety of issues. The files are in PDF format, and require an Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing and/or printing.
• SLC Fact Sheet on Wide Area Networks
• SLC Fact Sheet on Master Contracts
• SLC Clients' Commonly Asked Questions, Set III
In addition to carefully reviewing these guidance documents, schools and libraries can get answers to their most pressing questions by calling toll-free 888-203-8100; sending e-mail to question@slcfund.org; or faxing their questions toll-free to 888-276-8736. [March 4, 1998]
• Merit's SPIN number is 143 004 331. Schools and libraries that obtain services from Merit should provide this number on FCC form 471 items 15 and 16 column 1. It might be wise to include both the SPIN number and the providers name in that section. [March 2, 1998]
• Nationwide live satellite teleconference on Universal Service Implementation aired March 4, 1998 from 2-3:30 p.m. Broadcast is free for any Michigan school or library to downlink. You're welcome to see this teleconference at a Viewing site in Michigan. [Rev. March 3, 1998]
• SLC Fact Sheet on Discount Calculations - itemizes the method(s) each type of eligible entity should use in calculating its discount. Also includes examples. (PDF file -- requires Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing) [February 9, 1998]
• SLC Billed Entity Fact Sheet - defines "billed entity" and answers questions surrounding billed entities when filing forms 470 and 471. [4 February 1998]
• The Schools and Libraries Corporation Web Site [30 January 1998] - is now operational. USF Form 470 may be submitted online via this site.
• Schools and Libraries Eligibility List [30 January 1998] - This 10-page SLC document provides definitive answers regarding products and services that are eligible for USF discounts (requires Adobe Acrobat reader for viewing). An HTML version is also available.[4 February 1998]

Back to Top 
 

Comments or Suggestions, email Deepak or Ben