*Pages 1--5 from  Microsoft Word - 14068.doc*
 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  40 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  DC  20554 

 In  the  Matter  of  ) 
 ) 
 Request  for  Review  of  the  ) 
 Decision  of  the  ) 
 Universal  Service  Administrator  by  ) 
 ) 
 Atlanta  Adventist  Academy  HS  )  File  No.  SLD-  189986 
 Atlanta,  Georgia  ) 
 ) 
 Federal-  State  Joint  Board  on  )  CC  Docket  No.  96-  45 
 Universal  Service  ) 
 ) 
 Changes  to  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  )  CC  Docket  No.  97-  21 
 National  Exchange  Carrier  Association,  Inc.  ) 

 ORDER 
 Adopted:  January  9,  2002  Released:  January  10,  2002 
 By  the  Accounting  Policy  Division,  Common  Carrier  Bureau: 
 1.  In  this  Order,  the  Accounting  Policy  Division  dismisses  the  Request  for  Review 
 of  Atlanta  Adventist  Academy  HS,  Atlanta,  Georgia  (Atlanta  Adventist).  1  Atlanta  Adventist 
 seeks  review  of  a  decision  of  the  Schools  and  Libraries  Division  (SLD)  of  the  Universal  Service 
 Administrative  Company  (Administrator).  2  Atlanta  Adventist  seeks  review  of  SLDs 
 determination  that  its  electronic  application  for  support  for  telecommunications  services,  Internet 
 access,  and  internal  connections  in  Funding  Year  3  of  the  schools  and  libraries  support 
 mechanism  did  not  meet  its  Minimum  Processing  Standards,  and  thus  could  not  be  processed. 
 Atlanta  Adventist  also  asks  that  its  manually-  filed  FCC  Form  471  be  deemed  timely  filed  for 
 Funding  Year  3.  For  the  reasons  set  forth  below,  we  deny  Atlanta  Adventists  Request  for 
 Review  and  affirm  the  Administrators  determination  that  Atlanta  Adventist  did  not  file  a  timely 
 completed  application  in  Funding  Year  3  of  the  universal  service  support  mechanism  for  eligible 
 schools  and  libraries. 

 1  Letter  from  Rachel  Burg,  Atlanta  Adventist  Academy  HS,  to  Federal  Communications  Commission,  filed  March  3, 
 2000  (Request  for  Review). 
 2  Letter  from  Schools  and  Libraries  Division,  Universal  Service  Administrative  Company,  to  Rachel  Burg,  Atlanta 
 Adventist  Academy  HS,  dated  February  24,  2000  (Minimum  Processing  Standards  Letter).  Section  54.  719(  c)  of  the 
 Commissions  rules  provides  that  any  person  aggrieved  by  an  action  taken  by  a  division  of  the  Administrator  may 
 seek  review  from  the  Commission.  47  C.  F.  R.    54.719(  c). 
1
 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  40 
 2 
 I.  BACKGROUND 
 2.  Under  the  schools  and  libraries  universal  service  support  mechanism,  eligible 
 schools,  libraries,  and  consortia  that  include  eligible  schools  and  libraries,  may  apply  for 
 discounts  on  eligible  telecommunications  services,  Internet  access,  and  internal  connections.  3  In 
 order  to  receive  discounts  on  eligible  services,  applicants  must  file  certain  information  with  the 
 Administrator.  Specifically,  the  Commission's  rules  require  that  an  applicant  submit  a  completed 
 FCC  Form  470  to  the  Administrator,  in  which  the  applicant  sets  forth  its  technological  needs  and 
 the  services  for  which  it  seeks  discounts.  4  In  its  FCC  Form  470,  the  applicant  must  also 
 demonstrate  that  its  existing  technology  provides  support  necessary  for  the  effective  use  of  the 
 requested  eligible  services.  Once  the  applicant  has  signed  a  contract  for  eligible  services,  it  must 
 file  an  FCC  Form  471  application  to  notify  the  Administrator  of  the  services  that  have  been 
 ordered,  the  carrier  with  whom  the  school  has  signed  a  contract,  and  an  estimate  of  the  funds 
 needed  to  cover  the  discounted  portion  of  the  price  of  the  eligible  services.  5 

 3.  The  Commissions  rules  direct  the  Administrator  to  implement  an  initial  filing 
 period  (  filing  window)  for  the  FCC  Form  471  applications  that  treats  all  schools  and  libraries 
 filing  within  that  period  as  if  their  applications  were  simultaneously  received.  6  Such  applications 
 are  referred  to  as  in-  window  applications.  Applications  that  are  received  outside  of  this  filing 
 window  are  subject  to  separate  funding  priorities  under  the  Commissions  rules.  7  It  is  to  all 
 applicants  advantage,  therefore,  to  ensure  that  the  Administrator  receives  their  applications  prior 
 to  the  close  of  the  filing  window.  In  Funding  Year  3,  only  applicants  that  filed  within  the 
 window  received  funding.  Applicants  may  file  a  completed  FCC  Form  471  in  paper  form,  or 
 electronically  using  the  SLD  web  site.  Under  either  filing  method,  FCC  rules  require  that  the 
 FCC  Form  471  be  completed  prior  to  the  close  of  the  filing  window  to  ensure  in-  window 
 consideration.  In  Funding  Year  3,  electronic  Form  471  filers  were  required  to  print  out  the  Block 
 6  certification  to  the  Form  471  and  mail  it  to  SLD  by  January  31,  2000.  8  The  Funding  Year  3 
 filing  window  was  scheduled  by  the  Administrator  to  close  at  11:  59  PM  eastern  standard  time  on 
 January  19,  2000.  9 

 3  47  C.  F.  R.    54.502,  54.503. 
 4  47  C.  F.  R.    54.  504(  b)(  1),  (b)(  3). 
 5  47  C.  F.  R.    54.  504(  c). 
 6  47  C.  F.  R.    54.507(  c). 
 7  47  C.  F.  R.    54.507(  g). 
 8  See,  e.  g.,  SLD  Web  site,  Whats  New  (January  2000)  http://  www.  sl.  universalservice.  org/  whatsnew/ 
 012000.  asp#  extended  (noting  that  for  Funding  Year  3,  the  filing  window  for  FCC  Forms  471  closed  on  January  19, 
 2000,  while  the  deadline  for  certifications  was  initially  January  26,  2000,  and  later  extended  to  January  31,  2000). 
 For  Funding  Year  5,  which  begins  July  1,  2002,  SLD  has  enhanced  its  online  filing  capabilities  so  that  Block  6 
 certifications  to  FCC  Forms  471  can  be  filed  electronically.  See  http://  www.  sl.  universalservice.  org/ 
 reference/  471mps.  asp. 

 9  Id. 
2
 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  40 
 3 
 4.  In  the  Server  Crash  Order,  released  June  8,  2000,  the  Commission  directed  SLD 
 to  waive  its  filing  window  deadline  for  applicants  who  would  have  completed  their  applications 
 before  the  close  of  the  Year  3  filing  window  on  January  19,  2000,  but  were  unable  to  access 
 SLDs  Internet  site  on  January  19  th  due  to  a  failure  of  SLDs  network  server  at  approximately 
 11:  25  PM  Eastern  Standard  Time.  10  The  Commission  stated  that  this  action  was  necessary  so 
 that  those  applicants  who  exercised  due  diligence  to  file  their  applications  within  the  filing 
 window  were  not  disadvantaged  due  to  SLDs  server  failure  on  January  19,  2000.  11  Applicants 
 that  met  the  criteria  of  the  Server  Crash  Order  were  allowed  to  submit  their  applications  within 
 30  days  of  the  release  date  of  that  order,  and  those  applications  were  treated  as  if  the  application 
 was  received  within  the  filing  window.  12 

 5.  Atlanta  Adventist  asserts  that  it  attempted  to  file  its  FCC  Form  471  on  January  18, 
 2000,  but  that  due  to  mass  problems  on  the  site  while  filing  the  form  471  on-  line  on  January  18, 
 2000,  Atlanta  Adventist  was  thrown  off  the  site  before  printing  Block  6.  13  Atlanta  Adventist 
 states  that  it  had  contacted  the  Client  Services  Bureau  and  was  told  that  its  application  was  in 
 the  system  complete,  and  advised  to  print  out  a  hard  copy  of  the  Block  6  certification  and 
 complete  it.  14  Atlanta  Adventist  states  that  it  mailed  this  hard  copy  to  SLD  on  January  19, 
 2000.  15  The  record  demonstrates  that  while  SLD  received  Atlanta  Adventists  Block  6 
 certification  hard  copy  on  January  20,  2000,  SLD  apparently  did  not  receive  a  complete  Form 
 471  application  from  Atlanta  Adventist  prior  to  the  close  of  the  filing  window  on  January  19, 
 2000,  either  online  or  a  hard  copy.  16  SLD  informed  Atlanta  Adventist  on  February  24,  2000  that 
 its  Form  471  application  did  not  meet  its  Minimum  Processing  Standards  and  could  not  be 
 processed,  and  that  the  Block  6  certification  that  SLD  had  received  from  Atlanta  Adventist 
 referred  to  an  incomplete  FCC  Form  471.  17  SLD  further  informed  Atlanta  Adventist  that  in 

 10  See  Federal-  State  Joint  Board  on  Universal  Service,  Universal  Service  Support  for  Eligible  Schools  and 
 Libraries,  Year  3  Filing  Window,  Order,  CC  Docket  No.  96-  45,  15  FCC  Rcd  13932  (rel.  June  8,  2000)  (Server 
 Crash  Order).  At  approximately  11:  25  PM  Eastern  Standard  Time  on  January  19,  2000,  the  computer  equipment 
 supporting  the  online  application  filing  process  on  the  SLD  Internet  site  failed,  and  caused  SLDs  database  to  stop 
 serving  requests  from  the  Internet  site  at  that  time.  Applicants  who  were  in  the  process  of  completing  their 
 applications  on  the  Internet  site  at  that  time  lost  their  connection,  and  applicants  who  had  previously  entered  their 
 information  and  intended  to  log  on  to  complete  their  applications  immediately  prior  to  the  close  of  the  window  were 
 unable  to  do  so. 

 11  Server  Crash  Order,  15  FCC  Rcd  at  13935,  para.  8. 

 12  Id.,  para.  9. 
 13  Request  for  Review. 
 14  Id. 
 15  Id. 
 16  The  Block  6  certification  in  the  record  has  an  SLD  bar  code  attached  to  it  dated  January  20,  2000,  verifying  that 
 SLD  did  receive  the  Block  6  certification  in  a  timely  manner.  SLD  has  no  record,  however,  of  a  completed  Form 
 471  application  filed  by  Atlanta  Adventist  prior  to  the  close  of  the  filing  window  on  January  19,  2000.  The  earliest 
 date  that  SLD  received  a  completed  funding  Year  3  Form  471  application  from  Atlanta  Adventist  is  March  1,  2000. 
 See  FCC  Form  471,  Atlanta  Adventist  Academy,  filed  March  1,  2000  (Atlanta  Adventist  Form  471). 

 17  See  Minimum  Processing  Standards  Letter. 
3
 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  40 
 4 
 order  to  be  considered  for  E-  rate  discounts,  its  application  must  be  corrected  and  resubmitted.  18 
 SLD  records  indicate  that  Atlanta  Adventists  complete  Year  3  application  for  universal  service 
 support  was  received  on  March  1,  2000.  19 

 II.  DISCUSSION 
 6.  We  conclude  that  Atlanta  Adventist  did  not  timely  file  its  Year  3  application  for 
 universal  service  support  in  order  to  receive  in-  window  treatment,  because  it  did  not  complete 
 its  application  prior  to  the  close  of  the  Funding  Year  3  filing  window  on  January  19,  2000.  In 
 requesting  funds  from  the  schools  and  libraries  universal  service  support  mechanism,  the 
 applicant  has  certain  responsibilities.  The  applicant  bears  the  burden  of  getting  its  forms  and 
 other  information  to  SLD  for  processing  within  the  established  deadline  if  the  applicant  wishes  to 
 be  considered  with  other  in-  window  applicants.  Applications  are  deemed  timely  only  when  SLD 
 receives  the  complete  FCC  Form  471  application  within  the  established  timeframe.  In  this  case, 
 the  record  indicates  that  Atlanta  Adventist  did  not  file  a  complete  Funding  Year  3  application  for 
 universal  service  support  under  the  schools  and  libraries  mechanism  until  March  1,  2000,  well 
 after  the  January  19,  2000  close  of  the  Year  3  filing  window,  and  thus  the  Block  6  certification 
 that  was  received  separately  from  the  remainder  of  its  application  on  January  20,  2000  was 
 correctly  treated  by  SLD  as  an  incomplete  FCC  Form  471. 

 7.  We  note  that  with  this  appeal,  Atlanta  Adventist  has  included  copies  of  print-  outs 
 of  an  FCC  Form  471  with  the  date  January  18,  2000  in  the  Internet  address  footer.  We  find, 
 however,  that  these  documents  do  not  establish  that  SLD  electronically  received  the  FCC  Form 
 471  from  Atlanta  Adventist  on  that  date.  These  forms  only  indicate  that  print-  outs  were  made 
 from  Atlanta  Adventists  computer  screen  and  do  not  indicate  whether  the  application  was 
 actually  received  by  SLD  on  that  date.  The  record  indicates  that  Atlanta  Adventist  corrected  and 
 resubmitted  its  application  in  response  to  SLDs  Minimum  Processing  Standards  Letter  of 
 February  24,  2000,  and  SLD  thus  first  received  Atlanta  Adventists  complete  application  on 
 March  1,  2000.  It  is  clear  from  the  record,  therefore,  that  Atlanta  Adventist  did  not  file  its 
 complete  application  within  the  Year  3  filing  window  and  thus  is  not  eligible  for  Year  3  in-window 
 support. 

 8.  Atlanta  Adventist  alleges  that  mass  problems  with  the  site  while  filing  the  Form 
 471  on-  line  on  January  18,  2000  prevented  it  from  being  able  to  complete  its  Year  3 
 application.  20  Numerous  other  applicants,  however,  successfully  competed  their  applications 
 electronically  within  the  filing  window  during  the  same  time  period  that  Atlanta  Adventist 
 claims  it  attempted  to  complete  its  online  application.  At  lanta  Adventist  has  not  demonstrated 
 that  it  was  unable  to  log  back  on  to  complete  its  application  and  verify  for  itself  that  its 
 application  had  been  transmitted  before  the  close  of  the  filing  window  on  January  19,  2000. 
 Furthermore,  while  Atlanta  Adventist  alleges  that  it  was  informed  by  the  Client  Services  Bureau 
 that  its  application  was  in  the  system  complete  prior  to  the  close  of  the  window,  Atlanta 

 18  Minimum  Processing  Standards  Letter  at  1. 
 19  See  Atlanta  Adventist  Form  471. 
 20  Request  for  Review. 
4
 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  40 
 5 
 Adventist  provides  no  corroborating  information  to  support  this  assertion,  and  no  documentation 
 of  such  contact  is  present  in  the  record.  In  light  of  the  thousands  of  applications  that  SLD 
 reviews  and  processes  each  year,  it  is  administratively  necessary  to  place  on  the  applicant  the 
 responsibility  of  complying  with  all  relevant  rules  and  procedures.  21  In  order  for  the  program  to 
 work  efficiently,  the  applicant  must  assume  responsibility  for  timely  submission  of  its 
 application  materials  if  it  wishes  to  be  considered  within  the  window. 

 9.  We  further  conclude  that  Atlanta  Adventist  does  not  qualify  for  relief  under  the 
 Server  Crash  Order  because  it  does  not  fall  within  the  limited  category  of  applicants  entitled  to 
 relief  under  the  Server  Crash  Order.  The  relief  set  forth  in  the  Server  Crash  Order  only  applies 
 to  that  group  of  applicants  that  attempted  to  file  their  applications  online  during  a  very  short  time 
 period  on  January  19,  2000,  specifically  between  approximately  11:  25  PM  Eastern  time  to  the 
 close  of  the  filing  window  at  12:  00  midnight.  Atlanta  Adventist  alleges  mass  problems  with 
 the  SLD  server  on  January  18,  2000,  but  there  was  no  reported  SLD  server  failure  on  January 
 18  th  ,  and  Atlanta  Adventist  still  had  the  entire  day  of  January  19,  2000  to  complete  its  online 
 application  or  to  re-  verify  whether  its  application  had  actually  been  received  by  the  system  prior 
 to  being  booted  off  the  server.  In  sum,  we  conclude  that  Atlanta  Adventist  did  not  timely  file  its 
 complete  Year  3  application  prior  to  January  19,  2000,  and  was  not  eligible  for  in-  window 
 consideration  for  Year  3  universal  service  support,  and  thus  its  Request  for  Review  must  be 
 denied. 

 III.  ORDERING  CLAUSE 

 10.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  sections  1-  4,  and  254  of  the 
 Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended,  47  U.  S.  C.    151-  154  and  254,  and  sections  54.719 
 and  54.722  of  the  Commissions  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.    54.719  and  54.722,  that  the  Request  for 
 Review  filed  on  March  3,  2000  by  the  Atlanta  Adventist  Academy  HS,  Atlanta,  Georgia,  IS 
 DISMISSED. 

 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 

 Mark  G.  Seifert 
 Deputy  Chief,  Accounting  Policy  Division 
 Common  Carrier  Bureau 

 21  Request  for  Review  by  Anderson  School  Staatsburg,  Federal-  State  Joint  Board  on  Universal  Service,  Changes  to 
 the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  National  Exchange  Carrier  Association,  File  No.  SLD-  13364,  CC  Docket  Nos.  96-  45 
 and  97-  21,  Order,  15  FCC  Rcd  25610  (Com.  Car.  Bur.  2000),  para.  8. 
5