Universal Service Funding for Schools & Libraries

ISSUES BEING ADDRESSED BY THE COMMITTEE

Goal

• What is the goal of establishing an intrastate telecommunications discount program for schools and libraries?

Services Eligible for Discounts

1. Do we want to include all telecom services for a discount? Should Internet service and inside wiring be eligible for discounts? Should we include monthly and non-recurring services? Is inside wire obtainable through Dormitory bonds?
2. Clarify eligible services in accordance with the Act and the Joint Board recommendation.
3. What is the discount from (what constitutes the base price)?
4. Should we go beyond the Joint Board recommendation and define additional services eligible for discounts?

Level of Discounts

1. Should there be a separate discount plan for schools and libraries?
2. Should there be a sliding scale and if so, what should the discount range be, and what should it be based upon? What role should high cost and economic status play in determining the discount?

Application of Discounts

1. How do we ensure equity and eliminate the have-nots?
2. Should there be an entitlement program as well as, or instead of discounts?
3. How do we ensure that states, libraries and schools get their fair share of the fund? Should there be a baseline level of services that would receive a priority in order to bring the have-not's up to a basic level of connectivity?
4. How do we eliminate the "first come, first serve" factor?

Entities Eligible for Discounts

1. Do associations, consortiums, and third parties receive a discount for services provided for schools and libraries? How to encourage aggregation?
2. Should a school or library have to have a plan to obtain funding? Should there be a needs test based or current telecommunications and/or economic needs. Who is eligible for discounts? - define the institutions.

Amount of Support

1. How do we derive the funding? - who pays and what is the payment based upon?
2. Size of the fund - capped?
3. Should current telecom services be discounted? - what remains for funding new services if current services are discounted? Should only certain existing services be discounted (based on some criteria)?
4. Should discounts be funded each year automatically? If so, will there be money for future years? Should there be a growth factor?
5. Is there an intrastate and interstate fund?
6. If two funds, do we need to determine what services are intrastate vs interstate?
7. If the Joint Board recommendation is adopted do we need to supplement it?
8. Should the fund be limited to a specific period of time? e.g. a five year fund.
9. Should the fund be used to establish services that are not currently available in certain areas?

Administrative Issues

1. How will the fund be administered? - who will do it, who sets the rules - etc?
2. Schools and libraries have asked that any discount mechanism be easy to administer. How to do this?
3. How to design a program that works within the school and library budget process (voting takes place in April-May for the 97-98 budget.

Miscellaneous

1. How to make services such as ISDN available in rural areas?
2. Should there be a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the fund as it progresses?