Senate to hold E-rate hearing

On July 17th, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold a hearing on E-rate. According to the District Dispatch, the hearing is on “…strengthening the E-rate program and expanding access to the latest digital technology and learning tools in our libraries and schools.” The hearing is scheduled to coincide with the Open Meeting of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) being held on July 19th. At this meeting, the Commissioners will consider an E-rate Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that would modernize the E-rate program to support high-speed broadband. Maine State Librarian Linda Lord, who also serves as the Chair of the ALA E-Rate Task Force, will speak on behalf of libraries.

If interested, here’s how you can learn more:

• Listen to the hearing – On Wednesday, July 17th at 2:30pm, the hearing, E-Rate 2.0: Connecting Every Child to the Transformative Power of Technology, will be broadcast live via webcast. Refresh the webpage at 2:20pm to begin automatically streaming the webcast. The webcast will also be archived.
• Listen to the Open Meeting – On Friday, July 19th at 10:30am, listen to the live webcast of the Open Commission Meeting during which E-rate will be discussed. The archived webcast will also be available at the same site.
• Share your E-rate and library broadband success stories – The ALA Office for Information Technology Policy is interested in hearing your success stories. Email Marijke Visser and/or Larra Clark at mvisser@alawash.org and lclark@alawash.org.
• Read up on E-rate – For more information, including some background on the E-rate program and current efforts for improvement, see the District Dispatch post.

Report released on E-rate program changes

The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Information and Technology Policy (OITP) released a report that outlines the key changes to the E-rate program that go into effect in September.  According to the District Dispatch:

“The report also outlines the American Library Association’s (ALA) efforts to review the rule changes, compare these changes to the previous program rules, and inform the library community of the resulting impact on the eligibility of various services and the application process.”

E-rate Program at ALA Mid-Winter

If you will be attending the American Library Association (ALA) Mid-Winter Conference, you might be interested in an e-rate program being offered by the ALA Office of Information Technology Policy.  The program will discuss the changes to e-rate, followed by an opportunity to have a 10-minute, one-on-one appointment with John Noran, head of Customer Services for the Universal Service Access Fund.  For details, see the District Dispatch posting.  (It appears below the information on an e-books program.)

E-rate changes take effect in 30 days

The American Library Association (ALA) Washington Office stated in the District Dispatch today:

 “The Sixth Report and Order on the E-rate program was published in today’s Federal Register. The publication of the Order means that the changes to the E-rate program that were voted on by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in September will be effective thirty days after today, or January 3, 2011. ALA continues to work with the FCC to ensure that clear guidance be developed so that library applicants will clearly understand their options and obligations under the program.”

E-rate pilot program announced

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a public notice for a pilot program called E-rate Deployed Ubiquitously 2011 (EDU2011).  As stated in the public notice, EDU 2011 will serve “…to investigate the merits and challenges of wireless off-premises connectivity services for mobile learning devices, and to help the Commission determine whether and how those services should ultimately be eligible for E-rate support.”  The FCC authorized up to $10 million for funding year 2011.  For more information, including a link to the public notice, please see the District Dispatch posting.

ALA seeks e-rate clarification & guidance

The American Library Association (ALA) is seeking clarification and guidance on the changes to e-rate.  For details, see the District Dispatch posting.

FCC approves changes to E-rate to provide fast, affordable Internet access to schools & libraries

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved changes to the E-rate program.  The changes will provide fast and affordable Internet access to schools and libraries, as well as simplify the application process.  Recommendations from the National Broadband Plan are also included in the changes.  For more information, please see the FCC press release.

ALA says wait on changes to E-rate forms

The American Library Association (ALA) submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the proposed changes to the E-rate applications forms.  ALA supports streamlining the application process.  However, they recommended that the FCC wait on making any changes to the application forms until the E-rate reforms have been adopted and applicants have been trained.  For more information, including a link to the comments, see the District Dispatch posting.

ALA submits comments on E-rate Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

The American Library Association (ALA) has submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the E-rate Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  For details on their comments and a link to the full document, please see the District Dispatch posting.

ALA supports Nat’l Broadband Plan’s E-rate changes

In comments submitted by the American Library Association (ALA) to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), ALA urged the FCC to implement the changes to e-rate included in the National Broadband Plan.  The proposal includes streamlining the application process and working toward meeting the demand, among other things.  For more information, including a link to the comments, see the District Dispatch posting.