================================================================= ALAWON Volume 5, Number 87 ISSN 1069-7799 December 11, 1996 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (104 lines) FCC EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS ON JOINT BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE TO DEC. 19; KEY POINTS FROM ALA FILING INCLUDED _________________________________________________________________ Note: According to today's (Dec. 11) FCC Daily Digest , the deadline for filing comments on Docket No.: CC- 96-45 has been extended to Thursday, December 19, 1996. Below is an updated version of the November 22, 1996 ALAWON (Vol. 5, No. 83) with KEY POINTS from ALA's filing. FCC EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS ON JOINT BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE TO DEC. 19; KEY POINTS FROM ALA FILING INCLUDED The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeks comments on the universal service recommendations adopted by the Federal-State Joint Board on November 7 for significant discounts on a wide range of telecommunications services for the nation's libraries and schools. The deadline for Comments has been extended to December 19; Reply Comments are due January 10, 1997. Part of the Joint Board decision included a recommendation that the FCC seek additional information and comment on a number of topics including: principles of universal service, mechanisms of support for low-income consumers, methodologies for implementation of the discounts for libraries, schools, and health care as well as the overall administration of the universal service programs. The two questions specifically relating to libraries and schools are as follows: * What methods should the Commission use for identifying high cost areas for purposes of providing a greater discount to schools and libraries located in high cost areas? * What measures of economic advantage may be readily available to identify economically disadvantaged non-public schools and economically disadvantaged libraries or, if none is readily available, what information could be required that would be minimally burdensome? For the full text of the 3-page request for comments is located at the FCC web site . Library advocates are asked to send their comments to the FCC using the service list attached to the request for comments. KEY POINTS: ALA believes the November 7 Joint Board comments are favorable and encourages advocates to urge the Commission to implement the recommendations by the 1997-98 school year as was recommended by the Joint Board. Other points in the recommendations to endorse include: *Allowing discounts to apply to any available telecommunications service will provide maximum flexibility for libraries to choose those telecommunications services that best serve the needs of their communities. *The 20-90 percent range of discounts can provide for significant and meaningful discounts for libraries if indexed to appropriate measures of economic need and, in high cost areas, if applied to reasonably comparable prices for similar services. *Minimum administrative burdens on libraries by allowing self- certification of eligibility for the discounts. *Efficient and effective discount support mechanisms, including appointment of a neutral fund administrator be implemented so that discounted services can be deployed by the 1997-98 school year. ALA will be publishing its proposal for comments in ALAWON and at the ALA web site at and encourages library supporters to e-mail any suggestions for the ALA comments to the ALA Office of Information Technology and Policy at oitp@alawash.org. _________________________________________________________________ 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 ALA Washington Office Newsline. Visit our Web site at . ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Contributors: Andrew Magpantay Deirdre Herman All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================