********************************************************
                         NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from
WordPerfect or Word to ASCII Text format.
Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.
All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.
Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.
If you need the complete document, download the
WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available.
*****************************************************************
Before the
               Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
Request for Review of the
Decision of
the Universal Service Administrator by
North Country Library System
Watertown, New York
Federal-State Joint Board on
Universal Service
Changes to the Board of Directors of the
National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
File No. SLD-135248
CC Docket No. 96-45
CC Docket No. 97-21
                             ORDER
   Adopted:  March 29, 2001             Released: March 30, 2001
By the Accounting Policy Division, Common Carrier Bureau:
     1.   The Accounting Policy Division has under consideration a Request for Review filed
by North Country Library System (North Country), Watertown, New York, on behalf of Henderson
Free Library (Henderson), Henderson, New York on June 9, 2000, pursuant to section 54.719(c) of
the Commission's rules.  North Country seeks review of a decision of the Schools and Libraries
Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (Administrator), denying its
requests for Funding Year 2 because of a violation of the 28-day posting requirement for signing and
submitting its FCC Form 471 to SLD.  For the reasons discussed below, we deny the Request for
Review.
     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 for eligible
telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections.  The Commission's rules
require that the applicant make a bona fide request for services by filing with SLD an FCC Form
470, which is posted to the Administrator's website for all potential competing service providers to
review.  After the FCC Form 470 is posted, the applicant must wait at least 28 days before signing
and submitting an FCC Form 471, which requests support for eligible services.  SLD reviews the
FCC Forms 471 that it receives and issues funding commitment decisions in accordance with the
Commission's rules.  Section 54.507(g) of the Commission's rules provides, inter alia, that
applicants filing applications during a filing window receive priority for support as compared to
applicants that file their applications after the window has closed.  In Funding Year 2, the filing
window for priority funding closed on April 6, 1999.  The Commission's rules also provide that
applicants filing outside the established window will be funded, if funds are available, on a first
come, first serve basis.
     3.   By letter dated August 24, 1999, SLD denied Henderson's request for funding of
telecommunications  services, Funding Request Number 202012, because "[t]he [F]orm 471 was
signed and/or submitted prior to the expiration of the 28-day waiting period from the day of the
posting of the FCC Form 470 to the SLD Web Site."  On behalf of Henderson, North Country
appealed to the Administrator, arguing that, although Henderson filed its Form 470 on December
10, 1998, SLD did not post the FCC Form 470 on its web site until March 9, 1999.   This posting
delay, asserted North Country, made it impossible for Henderson to file its FCC Form 471 before
the priority funding application window closing deadline of April 6, 1999 and still remain in
compliance with the 28-day rule.  In the Administrator's Decision on Appeal, SLD affirmed its
earlier decision denying funding because Henderson's FCC Form 471 was signed and received by
SLD prior to the expiration of the 28th day after it was posted on the SLD's web site.
     4.   In the instant Request for Review, North Country again argues that SLD's delay in
posting Henderson's FCC Form 470 prevented Henderson from filing its FCC Form 471 in a
manner that complied with the Commission's rules.  North Country faults SLD for delaying the
posting of Henderson's Form 471 without accounting for such delay and claims that Henderson is
unaware of any problems encountered by SLD that caused that delay.
     5.        We affirm SLD's decision to deny Henderson's funding request on the
basis that Henderson violated the 28-day posting requirement.  Consistent with the Commission's
rules, FCC Form 470 instructions clearly state that applicants must wait at least 28 days after the
posting of FCC Form 470 on the SLD Web site before filing their FCC Form 471.  Our
examination of the record indicates that SLD received Henderson's FCC Form 470 on December
14, 1998, and posted the form on its website on March 9, 1999.  Consistent with the 28-day
rule, as part of this posting, SLD indicated that the earliest date on which Henderson could submit
its Form 471, was April 6, 1999.  Henderson, however, submitted its FCC Form 471 on March
29, 1999.
     6.        The record further indicates that the delay in posting the form to the SLD
website was caused by the filing of a defective FCC Form 470 by Henderson.  Specifically,
Henderson left certification items 24, 25, and 26 blank on its Form 470.  The record reflects
that, in an effort to notify Henderson of this omission, SLD telephoned Henderson on eleven
separate occasions between December 1998 and March 1999 without success.  In light of the
thousands of applications that SLD reviews and processes each funding year, it is administratively
necessary to place on the applicant the responsibility of understanding and complying with all the
relevant program rules and procedures.  It therefore is incumbent on the applicant to ascertain
the date its Form 470 has been posted, so that it can wait the appropriate period of time before
entering into an agreement.
     6.   We conclude, moreover, that North Country has not presented adequate grounds
for grant of a waiver of the 28-day posting requirement. We have strictly enforced both the 28-
day posting requirement and the section 54.507(g) filing window deadline.  Only in rare cases,
have we granted waivers of these rules.  In those instances, the applicants properly submitted
their FCC Form 470 but SLD failed to post them to its web site in a timely manner causing the
waiting period to extend past the filing window deadline.  In this instance, however,
Henderson's defective Form 470, not SLD, caused the posting delay.  Therefore, a waiver of the
Commission's rules is not warranted.
     7.   ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to authority delegated under
sections 0.91, 0.291, and 54.722(a) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.91, 0.291, and
54.722(a), that the Request for Review filed by North Country Library System, Watertown, New
York, on behalf of Henderson Free Library, Henderson, New York, on June 9, 2000 IS DENIED.
                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                              Mark G. Seifert
                              Deputy Chief, Accounting Policy Division
                              Common Carrier Bureau