FCC Commissioner Finds Urban Bias
in E-Rate Allocations
A member of the Federal Communications Commission has accused the administrators of the e-rate telecommunications subsidies of unfairly excluding rural applicants in favor of urban ones, in violation of the commission's intentions to provide greater support for rural areas.
Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth made the charge in a February 9 letter to Cheryl Parrino, president of the Universal Service Administrative Company, which oversees the program. He cited USAC's formula of first awarding the funds to institutions eligible for discounts in the 77-79% range, which he claimed favors the predominantly urban consortia applications. This approach resulted in 90% of the latest wave of commitment letters going to urban schools, said Furchtgott-Roth, who expressed fears that there may be no funds left for the applicants qualifying for a 70% discount, which he said were 100% rural.
On February 16 Parrino wrote Furchtgott-Roth that USAC had determined there was adequate funding for all schools receiving the 70-76% discount rates and was developing procedures for ensuring they would be funded.
Posted February 22, 1999.
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