================================================================= ALAWON Volume 5, Number 41 ISSN 1069-7799 July 3, 1996, 1996 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: FCC COMMON CARRIER BUREAU RELEASES FURTHER QUESTIONS ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE - AUGUST 2, 1996 DEADLINE FOR RESPONSES ON AFFORDABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS RATES _________________________________________________________________ FCC COMMON CARRIER BUREAU RELEASES FURTHER QUESTIONS ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE - AUGUST 2, 1996 DEADLINE FOR RESPONSES ON AFFORDABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS RATES Within the hour, the ALA Washington Office has received an official public notice from the Common Carrier Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) raising 72 questions as part of the Universal Service Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (CC docket 95-45). The deadline for responses to these questions is August 2, 1996. The document raises very specific questions on functionalities, applicable telecommunications services, how discounts should be applied and on which services, should there be additional discounts in rural, insular, high-cost and economically disadvantaged areas, what type of funding mechanisms as well as asking for comments on the cost estimates for library and school connectivity contained in the McKinsey Report and the NII KickStart Initiative. At this writing the Notice, dated July 3, 1996, has not appeared on the FCC web page. For a complete copy of the questions, interested parties are encouraged in the next few days to regularly check the FCC site at: http:\www.fcc.gov This Notice by the Common Carrier Bureau of the FCC is another step in the major Universal Service proceeding to implement the Telecommunications Act of 1996. ALA and many other library organizations have submitted formal Comments and Reply Comments in this proceeding. Further information about the proceeding and ALA's activities with these filings is available on the ALA Web Page, where we will also report on ALA responses to these questions. The questions in this Notice will also be addressed at a program planned for the ALA Annual Conference, about to begin in New York City. The Committee on Legislation and its Telecommunications Subcommittee are cosponsoring an _Open Forum on Affordable Telecommunications Rates for Libraries_ with the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA). For those coming to the New York conference or in the New York area it will be on Monday, July 8 from 2-4pm in the Riverside Ballroom of the Sheraton NY Hotel. Further analysis of the 72 questions will also be reported in pending ALAWONs. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname]" to . ALAWON archives gopher.ala.org; select Washington Office Newsline. Web page HTTP://www.ala.org/alawashington.html. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 Lynne E. Bradley, Editor All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================