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                                                           Before the
               Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554



In the Matter of

Request for Waiver by

Council Bluffs Community Schools
Council Bluffs, Iowa

Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service

Changes to the Board of Directors of the 
National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc.
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SLD-E007282


CC Docket No. 96-45

CC Docket No. 97-21



                             ORDER

   Adopted:  August 21, 2000            Released:  August 22, 2000

By the Common Carrier Bureau:


1.     The Common Carrier Bureau has under consideration a Request for Waiver filed by Council
Bluffs Community Schools (Council Bluffs), Council Bluffs, Iowa, on March 9, 2000.  Council Bluffs
seeks a waiver of the filing window deadline for the 1998-99 funding year (Year 1) of the schools and
libraries universal service support mechanism.  For the reasons set forth below, we grant Council Bluffs'
Request for Waiver.
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 schools and libraries
universal support mechanism is administered by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the
Universal Service Administrative Company (Administrator).  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 entering an agreement for services
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.
3.     In its Request for Waiver and accompanying materials, Council Bluffs indicates that it filed
its FCC Form 470 on February 6, 1998.  On March 20, 1998, Council Bluffs, in anticipation of awarding
contracts for requested services, contacted SLD and learned that, due to SLD's error, its FCC Form 470
had not been posted to SLD's website.  An SLD representative arranged for the FCC Form 470 to be
posted and advised Council Bluffs to wait 28 days before filing its FCC Form 471.  Council Bluffs
followed the SLD representative's instructions and filed its FCC Form 471 on April 27, 1998.  Because
Council Bluffs filed after the April 15, 1998, filing window deadline, Council Bluffs lost the priority for
funding that it would have held had SLD correctly posted Council Bluffs' FCC Form 470.  If SLD had
correctly posted the FCC Form 470, Council Bluffs could have complied with the Commission's
competitive bidding rules and filed its FCC Form 470 before April 15, 1998.
4.     Council Bluffs now requests that we waive the filing window deadline to allow SLD to
process Council Bluffs' application, thereby according it the same priority as applicants that filed during
the window.  Review of the record reveals that an excessive delay by SLD in posting Council Bluffs'
FCC Form 470 did, in fact, occur.  The Administrator's error resulted in a circumstance that essentially
forced Council Bluffs to choose between (1) complying with the 28-day waiting period required by the
Commission's competitive bidding rules and, as a result, filing outside the window, and (2) filing its
FCC Form 471 within the filing window in contravention of the 28-day waiting period requirement.  In
Runnemede, the Bureau waived the 28-day waiting period for an applicant that chose to file during the
window rather wait 28 days when faced with the same choice.  Similarly, in light of the fact that SLD's
failure to post Council Bluffs' FCC Form 470 to its website resulted in Council Bluffs' failure to file its
application within the Year 1 filing window, the Bureau believes that a waiver of the filing window
deadline is warranted.  Under these circumstances, we remand Council Bluffs' application to SLD for
processing and the issuance of an appropriate Funding Commitment Letter.
5.     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 Waiver filed by Council Bluffs Community Schools, Council Bluffs, Iowa, on March 9,
2000, IS GRANTED to the extent provided herein and that Council Bluffs' application IS REMANDED
to SLD for further consideration in light of this decision.
                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

                         Yog R. Varma                       
                              Deputy Chief, Common Carrier Bureau