================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 115 ISSN 1069-7799 December 17, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (92 lines) FCC ADJUSTS CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND; $2.25 BILLION ANNUAL CEILING AND STARTUP SCHEDULE UNAFFECTED _________________________________________________________________ FCC ADJUSTS CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND; $2.25 BILLION ANNUAL CEILING AND STARTUP SCHEDULE UNAFFECTED The FCC today released its Third Order on Reconsideration dealing with Universal Service. This order restructures the contribution schedule of the Universal Service Fund for libraries and schools as well as the fund for rural health care providers. The discount program is scheduled to begin in January. The order specifies that during the first six months the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC) is authorized to collect up to $625 million to fund discounts during those first six months from telecommunications providers. Should demand outstrip the collections, the Commission has reserved the option of revising this $625 million cap. The Commission also stated that it "anticipate[s] that this action will not jeopardize the sufficiency of the support mechanisms." The Commission is changing the six month cap based on revised forecasts on the demand for services between January - June 1998. The order states that, "[b]ecause many schools and libraries will not begin the installation of internal connections until the summer when students are not present in instructional buildings, we anticipate that initial demand for the schools and libraries support mechanisms will not reach the projected maximums [of $625 million]." The FCC explicitly did not revise the total amount that can be disbursed annually. "We are ramping down the start-up of this program. But we haven't changed the ceiling. The ceiling will remain at $2.25 billion," said FCC Chairman William Kennard in a press conference on December 15. Funds will still be collected from service providers on an as-needed basis, meaning that USAC will not collect more funds than are requested by libraries and schools. "These changes will not affect the overall operations of the discount program," said Ira Fishman, CEO of the Schools and Libraries Corporation. "The application forms have been mailed to schools and libraries throughout the country and the client service bureau is up and running on schedule. We are proceeding full steam ahead." The Schools and Libraries Corporation is responsible for processing the applications. The rural health care fund was also ramped down. Contributions for rural health care discounts will not exceed $50 million during the first six months. However, the annual health care ceiling of $400 million remains unchanged. The Third Reconsideration Order is expected to be available online from the FCC's at www.fcc.gov/ccb/universal_service/ later today. The Schools and Libraries Corporation customer service bureau can be reached at 888/203.8100. _________________________________________________________________ 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 listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Aleck Johnson Andrew Magpantay Carol Henderson All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================