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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  795 
 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. 


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 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  Commissions  rules.  1  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.  2  The 
 Commissions  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  Administrators  website  for  all  potential 


 1  Letter  from  Yvonne  Reff,  North  Country  Library  System,  to  Federal  Communications  Commission,  filed  June 
 9,  2000  (Request  for  Review).  Section  54.719(  c)  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). 


 2  47  C.  F.  R.    54.502,  45.503. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  795 
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 competing  service  providers  to  review.  3  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.  4  SLD  reviews  the  FCC  Forms  471  that  it  receives  and  issues  funding 
 commitment  decisions  in  accordance  with  the  Commissions  rules.  Section  54.507(  g)  of  the 
 Commissions  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.  5  In  Funding  Year  2,  the  filing  window  for  priority  funding  closed  on  April  6,  1999.  6 
 The  Commissions  rules  also  provide  that  applicants  filing  outside  the  established  window  will  be 
 funded,  if  funds  are  available,  on  a  first  come,  first  serve  basis.  7 


 3.  By  letter  dated  August  24,  1999,  SLD  denied  Hendersons  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.  8  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.  9  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.  10  In  the  Administrators  Decision  on  Appeal,  SLD  affirmed  its 
 earlier  decision  denying  funding  because  Hendersons  FCC  Form  471  was  signed  and  received  by 


 3  See  Schools  and  Libraries  Universal  Service,  Description  of  Service  Requested  and  Certification  Form,  OMB 
 3060-  0806  (December  1998)  (FCC  Form  470);  47  C.  F.  R.    54.504(  b);  Federal-  State  Joint  Board  on  Universal 
 Service,  CC  Docket  No.  96-  45,  Report  and  Order,  12  FCC  Rcd  8776,  9078,  para.  575  (1997)  (Universal  Service 
 First  Report  and  Order),  affirmed  in  part,  Texas  Office  of  Public  Utility  Counsel  v.  FCC,  183  F.  3d  393  (5th  Cir. 
 1999)  (affirming  Universal  Service  First  Report  and  Order  in  part  and  reversing  and  remanding  on  unrelated 
 grounds),  cert.  denied,  Celpage,  Inc.  v.  FCC,  120  S.  Ct.  2212  (May  30,  2000),  cert.  denied,  AT&  T  Corp.  v. 
 Cincinnati  Bell  Tel.  Co.,  120  S.  Ct.  2237  (June  5,  2000),  cert.  dismissed,  GTE  Service  Corp.  v.  FCC,  121  S.  Ct.  423 
 (November  2,  2000). 


 4  47  C.  F.  R.    54.504(  b),  (c);  Schools  and  Libraries  Universal  Service,  Services  Ordered  and  Certification  Form, 
 OMB  3060-  0806  (December  1998)  (FCC  Form  471). 
 5  47  C.  F.  R.    54.507(  g). 


 6  <http://  www.  sl.  universalservice.  org> 
 7  47  C.  F.  R.    54.507(  c). 
 8  Letter  from  Schools  and  Libraries  Division,  Universal  Administrative  Company,  to  Cheryl  A.  Shutts, 
 Henderson  Free  Library,  dated  August  24,  1999  (Funding  Commitment  Decision  Letter). 
 9  See  Letter  from  Yvonne  Reff,  North  Country  Library  System,  to  Schools  and  Libraries  Division,  Universal 


 Service  Administrative  Company,  filed  August  31,  1999. 
 10  See  id. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  795 
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 SLD  prior  to  the  expiration  of  the  28  th  day  after  it  was  posted  on  the  SLDs  web  site.  11 
 4.  In  the  instant  Request  for  Review,  North  Country  again  argues  that  SLDs  delay  in 
 posting  Hendersons  FCC  Form  470  prevented  Henderson  from  filing  its  FCC  Form  471  in  a 
 manner  that  complied  with  the  Commissions  rules.  12  North  Country  faults  SLD  for  delaying  the 
 posting  of  Hendersons  Form  471  without  accounting  for  such  delay  and  claims  that  Henderson  is 
 unaware  of  any  problems  encountered  by  SLD  that  caused  that  delay.  13 


 5.  We  affirm  SLDs  decision  to  deny  Hendersons  funding  request  on  the  basis  that 
 Henderson  violated  the  28-  day  posting  requirement.  Consistent  with  the  Commissions  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.  14  Our 
 examination  of  the  record  indicates  that  SLD  received  Hendersons  FCC  Form  470  on  December 
 14,  1998,  and  posted  the  form  on  its  website  on  March  9,  1999.  15  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.  16  Henderson,  however,  submitted  its  FCC  Form  471  on  March 
 29,  1999.  17 


 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.  18  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.  19  In  light  of  the  thousands  of 


 11  See  Letter  from  Schools  and  Libraries  Division,  Universal  Service  Administrative  Company,  to  Yvonne  Reff, 
 North  Country  Library  System,  dated  May  29,  2000  (Administrators  Decision  on  Appeal). 
 12  See  Request  for  Review. 


 13  See  id. 
 14  See  Instructions  for  Completing  the  Schools  and  Libraries  Universal  Service  Description  of  Services  Requested 
 and  Certification  Form  (FCC  Form  470)  (December  1998)  (Form  470  Instructions)  at  page  3. 
 15  See  Schools  and  Libraries  Universal  Service,  Description  of  Services  Requested  and  Certification  Form  (Aug. 


 8,  2000)  <http://  www.  sl.  universalservice.  org>. 
 16  After  SLD  has  completed  data  entry  of  an  applicants  FCC  Form  470,  SLD  notifies  the  applicant  by  letter  of  its 


 allowable  contract  date. 
 17  See  Schools  and  Libraries  Service  Program,  Services  Ordered  and  Certification  Form,  471  Application  Display 


 (Aug.  8,  2000)  <http://  www.  sl.  universalservice.  org>. 
 18  See  FCC  Form  470,  Henderson  Free  Library,  filed  Dec.  9,  1998;  47  C.  F.  R.    54.504(  b)(  2)  (establishing  the 


 certification  process  for  Form  470). 
 19  See  Schools  and  Libraries  Service  Program,  Callback  Detail  For  Problem  Resolution  and  Problem  Resolution 


 Form  Detail  Log,  Henderson  Free  Library,  Funding  Year  1999-  2000. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  795 
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 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.  20  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.  21 


 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.  22  Only  in  rare  cases, 
 have  we  granted  waivers  of  these  rules.  23  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.  24  In  this  instance,  however, 
 Hendersons  defective  Form  470,  not  SLD,  caused  the  posting  delay.  Therefore,  a  waiver  of  the 
 Commissions  rules  is  not  warranted. 


 20  See  Request  for  Review  by  Anderson  School  Staatsburg,  Federal-  State  Joint  Board  on  Universal  Service, 
 Changes  to  the  Board  of  Directors  of  National  Exchange  Carrier  Association,  File  No.  SLD-  13364,  CC  Dockets 
 No.  96-  45  and  97-  21,  Order,  DA  00-  2630  (Com.  Car.  Bur.  rel.  Nov.  24,  2000),  at  para.  8  (  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  all  relevant  program  rules  and  procedures). 


 21  In  this  case,  although  SLD  was  under  no  obligation  to  notify  Henderson  of  its  incomplete  Form  470,  SLD  made 


 repeated  attempts  to  do  so. 
 22  See  Request  for  Review  by  Minor  High  School,  Federal-  State  Joint  Board  on  Universal  Service,  Changes  to 
 the  Board  of  Directors  of  National  Exchange  Carrier  Association,  File  No.  SLD-  139210,  CC  Dockets  No.  96-  45 
 and  97-  21,  Order,  15  FCC  Rcd  13,790  (Com.  Car.  Bur.  2000)  (affirming  denial  of  request  for  funding  based  on 
 violation  of  the  28-  day  posting  requirement  where  applicant  signed  Form  471  one  day  before  expiration  of  28-  day 
 waiting  period);  Request  for  Review  by  Currituck  County  Schools,  File  No.  SLD-  111040,  CC  Dockets  No.  96-  45 
 and  97-  21,  Order,  15  FCC  Rcd  5564  (Com.  Car.  Bur.  2000)  (denying  waiver  of  28-  day  posting  requirement 
 where  applicant  signed  contracts  one  day  before  expiration  of  28-  day  waiting  period).  Section  54.507(  g) 
 provides,  among  other  things,  that  applicants  filing  Form  471  application  during  a  filing  window  receive  priority 
 for  support  over  applicants  that  file  after  the  window  has  closed.  47  C.  F.  R.    54.507(  g). 


 23  See  Request  forWaiver  by  Council  Bluffs  Community  Schools,  File  No.  SLD-  E007282,  CC  Dockets  No.  96-  45 


 and  97-  21,  Order,  15  FCC  Rcd  18,836  (Com.  Car.  Bur.  2000);  Request  for  Review  by  Runnemede  Public 
 Schools,  File  No.  SLD-  154153,  CC  Dockets  No.  96-  45  and  97-  21,  Order,  DA  99-  2957  (Com.  Car.  Bur.  rel.  Dec. 
 21,  1999)  (Runnemede). 


 24  See  id. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  795 
 5 
 7.  ACCORDINGLY,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  authority  delegated  under 
 sections  0.91,  0.291,  and  54.722(  a)  of  the  Commissions  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 
5