[1] The "Coalition" refers to the undersigned groups, including: National Coalition for the Homeless; American Women's Roundtable; Consumer Action; Community Technology Institute; 5th Street Connection; Heartland Alliance for Human Rights and Needs; Interstate Migrant Education Council; Migrant Legal Action Program; National Association of Migrant Educators; United Church of Christ, Office of Communications; Vermont Migrant Education Program; Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless; and Marsha Zashin, Educational Consultant to Cleveland Public Schools and Project Act.

[2] Further Comment on Specific Questions In Universal Service, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CC Dkt. 96-45, released July 3, 1996, Question 1-3 at 3 [hereinafter FNRPM].

[3] Comments of the United States Catholic Conference et al. at 4-8.

[4] Id.

[5] 47 USC [[section]]151, as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56, [[section]]104 [hereinafter the 1996 Act].

[6] S. Rep. No. 23, 104th Cong., 1st Sess. 27 (1995).

[7] S. Rep. No. 23, 104th Cong., 1st Sess. 52 (1995).

[8] 1996 Act [[section]]255.

[9] H.R. Rep. No. 14, 104th Cong., 2nd Sess. 30-31 (1996).

[10] Universal Service: An Historical Perspective and Policies for the 21st Century, Benton Foundation & Consumer Federation of America, July 1996, at 15 (Prerelease Draft).

[11] Id.

[12] The Wisconsin rules require LECs or their affiliates to offer voice-mail service within an exchange to shelters, social service agencies or job service agencies upon request without charge. The provider may request and receive reimbursement only for its incremental usage and administrative costs of providing the service. Wisc. Admin. Code [[section]] PSC 160.063 (1996).

[13] Initial Report to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, Recommendations on Proposed Rules for Universal Service, Universal Service Fund Council, July 1995, at 15.

[14] Interview with Jeffrey Richter, Wisconsin Public Service Commission, July 30, 1996.

[15] Id.

[16] Interview with Jan Thorton, US West Communications Manager, July 24, 1996. US West currently provides service to 69 agencies in 11 out of 14 states in its service area. A total of 2,034 mailboxes have been assigned, plus training and tracking materials to support the service. Clients are permitted to use the voice mail for a limited time at the discretion of the agency to secure housing and employment. Afterwards the mailbox is recycled for use by another individual. Telecards (phone cards usable in pay phones for local calls) have also been provided to agencies in cities where phones are equipped to accept such cards.

[17] Interview with Public Relations Representative, Bell Atlantic NYNEX, July 22, 1996. Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's Hopeline cellular voice mail service donates voice mail to agencies serving homeless and battered women for free. Bell Atlantic NYNEX has programs in all of its regions. Boxes are distributed to caseworkers who receive and retrieve messages for their clients. The cost of these services is currently absorbed by their community relations budget and administered by the marketing department

[18] Interview with Representative of Bell South Mobility, July 19, 1996. Bell South Mobility's Opportunity Calls program provides voice mail boxes to homeless shelters at no charge. The shelter then administers the allocation of those boxes to its clients. The program was introduced in Fall 1995 through the Orlando Coalition for the Homeless and is currently being expanded to other shelters in the region.

[19] The Coalition endorses broadly defined federal eligibility requirements, similar to those proposed by CFA for Lifeline and Link Up, allowing for significant discretion at the state level to ensure that only homeless persons and migrant farm workers who lack access to residential phones and the organizations that serve them are entitled to support.

[20] Getting America's Students Ready for the 21st Century: Meeting the Technological Literacy Challenge, United States Department of Education, June 29, 1996.

[21] AAP Speaker Says Content Will Remain King for Publishers, Educational Marketer, No. 12, Vol. 27, Apr. 15, 1996.

[22] Melinda Malico, Vice President Gore and Education Secretary Riley Present National Technology Plan to Net Day Participants, U.S. Newswire, NATIONAL DESK, EDUCATION WRITER, June 28, 1996.

[23] America's Children and the Information Superhighway, http://www.koco.com/cp/report/stand.html.

[24] Eric Blom, Cash Strapped Schools to Lose Out on Internet, Portland Press Herald, June 30, 1996 at IA.

[25] Access to Information Highway: Library Computers, Balt. Sun, May 27, 1996 at 8A.

[26] Telecommunications Act, [[section]] 254(b)(7). See also Comments of the United States Catholic Conference et al at 4-8. at 11-12; Reply Comments of the United States Catholic Conference et al at 5-10.

[27] Initial Comments of the American Association of Retired Persons et al.; Reply Comments of the American Association of Retired Persons et al.

[28] A similar scheme should also be adopted to provide 800 numbers to non-profit advocacy and social service agencies. And Lifeline and Link Up programs could be extended to eligible non-profit organizations and social service providers to provide for reduced rate telephone set-up and access to additional phone lines.

[29] Erasing Barriers: FCC Officials Offer Hints on Direction of Interconnection Order, Communications Daily, July 17, 1996; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Matter of Interconnection Between Local Exchange Carriers and Commercial Mobile Radio Service Providers, CC Dkt. No. 95-185, Released Jan. 11, 1996 ("overriding goal is to maximize the benefits of telecommunications for the American consumer and for

American society as a whole).