ARKANSAS

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ARKANSAS
Work Group (AEWG)
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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

• Program Eligibility Issues
• Eligible Entities
• Eligible Purpose (Educational)
• Eligible Services
• Eligible Location

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ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

• Eligible Entities--Schools
• Schools must meet the statutory definition of an
  elementary or secondary school found in the
  Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
• Must not operate as a for-profit business
• Must not have an endowment exceeding 50 million

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ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

• Eligible Entities--Schools
• Statutory Definitions in ESEA
• The term elementary school means a nonprofit
  institutional day or residential school,
  including a public elementary charter school,
  that provides elementary education, as determined
  under state law.
• The term secondary school means a nonprofit
  institutional day or residential school,
  including a public secondary charter school, that
  provides secondary education, as determined under
  state law, except that such term does not include
  any education beyond grade 12.

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ELIGIBILITY

• Eligible Entities - Schools
• Pre-kindergarten, and Adult Education, are NOT
  eligible in Arkansas
• Juvenile Justice students/facilities may be
  eligible.
• Must provide elementary or secondary education as
  determined under state law.
• USAC requests updated eligibility information
  from state departments of education every two
  years.

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ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

• Eligible Entities--Libraries
• Must meet the statutory definition of library or
  library consortium found in the Library Services
  and Technology Act and must be eligible for
  assistance from a state library administrative
  agency under that Act.
• A librarys eligibility for universal service
  funding also depends on its funding as an
  independent entity.
• Only libraries whose budgets are completely
  separate from any schools (including, but not
  limited to, elementary and secondary schools,
  colleges, and universities) shall be eligible to
  receive discounted services from the universal
  service support mechanism.
• Libraries operating as for-profit businesses
  shall not be eligible for discounts.

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ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

• Library. A library includes
• a public library
• a public elementary school or secondary school
  library
• an academic library
• a research library, which for the purposes of
  this definition means a library that
• Makes publicly available library services and
  materials suitable for scholarly research and not
  otherwise available to the public and
• Is not an integral part of an institution of
  higher education and
• a private library, but only if the state in which
  such private library is located determines that
  the library should be considered a library for
  the purposes of this definition.

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ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

• Library consortium. A library consortium is
  any local, statewide, regional, or interstate
  cooperative association of libraries that
  provides for the systematic and effective
  coordination of the resources of schools, public,
  academic, and special libraries and information
  centers, for improving services to the clientele
  of such libraries.

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ELIGIBILITY

• Examples of Non-instructional Facilities (NIFs)
  that can receive Priority 1 services

• SCHOOLS
• Administrative buildings
• School bus barns and garages
• Cafeteria offices
• Facilities associated with athletic activities

• LIBRARIES
• Administrative buildings
• Bookmobile garages
• Interlibrary loan facilities
• Library technology centers

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ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

• Consortium
• Of Eligible Schools and/or Libraries
• Of Eligible and Ineligible Entities
• Ineligible Entities would pay the lower
  pre-discount prices
• Only Eligible Schools and Libraries would receive
  the added benefit of universal service discount
  mechanisms

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ELIGIBLE PURPOSE

• Educational purpose is defined as
• The primary purpose of the services for which
  support is sought must be the delivery of
  services into classrooms or other places of
  instruction at schools and libraries that meet
  the statutory definition of an eligible
  institution. Support for the administrative
  functions of a library or education program is
  permitted so long as the services are part of the
  network of shared services for learning.
  Universal service support will be limited to
  services delivered to the onsite educational
  facility or facilities. Services at a personal
  residence or at locations that do not host places
  of instruction or are not accessible to library
  patrons, with the exception of a centralized
  district office or similar facility, are not
  eligible for support.

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EligibilityService Providers

• Providers of Telecommunications Services must be
  authorized as Telecommunications Carriers
• Must contribute to the Universal Service Fund, if
  applicable.
• Must provide telecommunications services on a
  common carriage basis to be deemed a
  Telecommunications Carrier.

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EligibilityService Providers

• Telecommunications Carriers must
• (1) allow the customer to transmit information of
  its own design and choosing, without change in
  the form or content of the information, and
• (2) provide that capability for a fee directly to
  the public, or to such classes of users as to be
  effectively available to the public (i.e., hold
  itself out to serve indifferently all potential
  users).

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EligibilityService Provider Tips

• Keep contact information updated by filing
  revisions to Form 498
• USAC web site SPIN Search reflects information
  from Form 498 Block 11
• Designate individual program contacts if new or
  changed
• Telecommunications Carriers provide Form 499
  Filer ID

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ELIGIBLE SERVICES

• Priority 1 funded first
• Telecommunications Services
• Basic telephone service wireline or wireless
  phone service (local, cellular/PCS, and/or long
  distance)
• Voice mail
• Transmission services (T-1, DSL)
• Internet Access
• Basic conduit access to the Internet

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ELIGIBLE SERVICES

• Priority 2
• Internal Connections (switches, hubs, routers,
  wiring)
• Basic Maintenance on Internal Connections
• Priority 1 funded first, then Priority 2 begins
  with neediest applicants (90 first, then 89,
  88, etc.).
• Internal Connections funded in only two out of
  five funding years.

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ELIGIBILITY

• Educational Purposes Priority 1
• Wireless Telecommunications Services used offsite
  may be eligible. For example,
• School bus drivers delivering children to and
  from school
• Library staff providing library services on a
  librarys mobile library unit van
• Teachers or other school staff accompanying
  students on a field trip or sporting event.

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Eligible Local Telephone Charges

• Single Party Service
• Dual Tone Multi Frequency signaling or equivalent
• Voice grade access to the public switched network
• Access to 911
• Access to operator services, inter-exchange
  service, directory assistance
• 900/976 call blocking
• Long distance
• Taxes
• Universal Service charges
• Voice mail
• 911/E911 trunk lines
• Burglar/fire alarm telephone lines

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Local Telephone Charges Ineligible for
E-Rate

• These charges must be subtracted from E-Rate
  funding requests on Block 5
• Unlisted telephone line charges
• Payphone service
• Telephone Directory listing
• Directory Advertising

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ELIGIBILITY

• Educational Purposes Priority 2
• Priority 2 services to NIFs are NOT eligible
  unless those internal connections are essential
  for the effective transport of information to an
  instructional building of a school or to a
  non-administrative building of a library.

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ELIGIBLE SERVICES

• No end user equipment (phones, fax machines)
• Telecommunications Services
• Basic Telecommunications Services (local long
  distance voice services)
• Centrex or Plexar is not basic service
• Advanced Telecommunications Services (T-1, ATM,
  Frame Relay, etc.)
• See eligible services list for more detail

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ELIGIBLE SERVICES

• Internet Access Services
• Special Rules regarding Internet Content
• Generally no content supported
• Bundled must show that approach is most
  cost-effective
• See eligible services presentation and list for
  more detail

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ELIGIBLE SERVICES

• Internal Connections
• Wiring
• Routers
• Switches
• Hubs
• Network servers
• System software
• Wireless LANs
• Private branch exchange (PBX)
• Internal Connections Basic Maintenance

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ELIGIBLE SERVICES

• Eligible Services List provides detail about
  specific services
• Updated periodically
• List is available on web site
• If service is NOT on list
• Assume it is not eligible
• When in doubt, break it out! If you want to
  request discounts on a service of questionable
  eligibility, include it as a SEPARATE Funding
  Request

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QUESTIONS???