EDUCAUSE | E-Rate

Feds Charge Former Telecom Exec With E-Rate Fraud

drupal — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:26:55 -0600

A federal grand jury has indicted Rafael G. Adame on nine counts of wire fraud in connection with what federal authorities said was a practice of defrauding the E-Rate program. Operated by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) on behalf of the FCC, the E-Rate Program provides funds to extend Internet access to schools and libraries. Since it was implemented 10 years ago, the program has been the subject of numerous allegations of fraud and misuse. Adame is the 14th person to be charged in E-Rate fraud cases, and 12 companies have also been charged. Adame was the owner of ATE Tel, a telecommunications company in Texas that provided goods and services to the Weslaco Independent School District. Authorities said that Adame submitted fraudulent invoices totaling more than $140,000. Assistant Attorney General Thomas O. Barnett said, "Committing fraud upon the E-Rate program harms underprivileged school districts."

Social Network Sites Face US Ban

drupal — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 11:37:53 -0500

A bill introduced by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) that aims to restrict social networking Web sites in schools and libraries passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 410-15. The Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) would require organizations that receive funds under the federal E-Rate program to install Internet filters that would block access to sites such as Facebook and MySpace. The FCC would be responsible for defining what sites would be covered by the law.According to the American Library Association (ALA), about two-thirds of U.S. libraries would be subject to the law. Supporters of the legislation said that children who use such Web sites become targets of sexual predators. Opponents of the law said it is overly broad and would prevent computer users from accessing a number of unrelated sites, such as Amazon, blogs, wikis, and even news sites. Leslie Burger, president of the ALA, said, "DOPA is redundant and unnecessary legislation," noting that the Children's Internet Protection Act already requires institutions to block Web content considered harmful to children. The bill now goes to the Senate.

University of Michigan President comments on Google ...

mpasiewicz — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:54:00 -0600

C|NET has a nine and a half minute video of Mary Sue Coleman speaking about their library digitization project.
http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-6036176.html

The transcript of her speech is available her:
http://www.umich.edu/pres/speeches/060206google.html

An Interview with ALA's Rick Weingarten

mpasiewicz — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 16:44:00 -0600

In this 32 minute recording, I join Rick Weingarten, Director of the ALA's Office of IT Policy, for a look inside the beltway. Join us as he shares a brief bit of background about the American Library Association and a fairly interesting discussion about privacy, the google print litigation, and internet governance.

Also of interest could be ACRL's blog entry noting a number of higher ed associations have released a guide to copyright. Oh, and don't forget resources from our own policy office ;)

This interview is provided courtesy of CNI and was recorded at their 2005 Fall Task Force Meeting. The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is an organization dedicated to supporting the transformative promise of networked information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity. You can learn more about CNI at their web site, http://www.cni.org

Tales of Fraud, Abuse in School E-Rate Program

drupal — Mon, 28 Mar 2005 15:05:20 -0600

A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) puts forth renewed charges of fraud and mismanagement in the federal government's E-rate Program, designed to subsidize technology to connect U.S.schools and libraries to the Internet. The report was prepared for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is conducting its own investigation. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), chairman of the committee, blamed the Federal Communications Commission, unscrupulous vendors, and certain schools for the problems in the program, which he said was a "disgrace." Although investigations have led to a handful of penalties for abuse in the program, the report advises increased efforts to clean it up. Among the report's recommendations are calls to "comprehensively determine which federal accountability requirements apply to E-rate; establish meaningful E-rate performance goals and measures; and take steps to reduce its backlog of appeals."

Congress Fails to Act on Copyright Bills

drupal — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:48:26 -0600

Controversial bills proposed new penalties (including jail time) for copyright violations.

E-rate funding restarts, but crisis continues

drupal — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:08:49 -0600

Following a nearly four-month suspension of E-Rate Program payments, the federal organization that administers such payments has restarted issuing letters promising funds to schools and libraries around the country. The E-Rate Program has come under intense scrutiny for alleged fraud and abuse, and in August, government officials halted payments under the program based on revised accounting requirements. A number of school systems and libraries depend on E-Rate funds to provide basic computer services and connectivity, and at least one school district in Alaska shut down Internet service this summer because of concern that the E-Rate funds would end. Under the new rules, E-Rate letters cannot be sent until the funds they promise have been collected. The former system allowed letters to be sent after applications were approved, prior to collection of the funds, because the monies would not be disbursed for 12 to 18 months. The new regulation has resulted in a logjam in sending commitment letters and funds. Efforts in Congress have thus far failed to streamline the process.

Lack of Funding Hurting E-rate Oversight

drupal — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 10:14:10 -0500

Lack of oversight blamed for E-rate problems at a Congressional hearing this week, H. Walker Feaster III, inspector general of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), said a lack of adequate funding for oversight was to blame for much of the fraud and abuse of the E-Rate program. Beginning in January 2003, a series of investigations into the E-Rate program has turned up evidence of widespread fraud and waste, such as $23 million of unused computer equipment and a $58 million network that rarely gets used. Companies including SBC and a subsidiary of NEC America have agreed to repay millions of dollars as a result of federal investigations into alleged abuses. The Office of the Inspector General requested $2 million to conduct audits into the program, which was later raised to $3 million, according to Feaster, but those funds were not included in the FCC's final budget. Feaster said that approximately one-third of the 122 audits conducted by his office during the past year showed substantial violations.

E-Rate and StateNets

drupal — Fri, 19 Mar 2004 15:08:19 -0600

George McDonald, vice-president, Schools and Libraries Division (SLD), Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), and Cynthia Schultz, director of Service Provider Support, SLD, USAC, will be joining us at the conference. McDonald is currently scheduled to participate in an E-Rate panel discussion on recent rule changes and in an E-Rate-specific breakout session. The latter will provide an opportunity for you to share how E- Rate affects your business practices, as well as your concerns about implementation of recent FCC rule changes. Those of us who work with E- Rate will have the SLD's undivided attention. If you manage the E-Rate process at your state network, this is an opportunity you should not miss.