US:PA-2: Re: Summary of Universal Service Task Force Report
Re: Summary of Universal Service Task Force Report
Gene Hastings (hastings@info-ren.org)
Fri, 26 Sep 1997 09:40:26 -0400
At 9:59 PM -0400 9/25/97, Bob Carlitz wrote:
>The Final Report and Recommendation of the Pennsylvania Universal
>Service Task Force contains a number of recommendations which
>should prove to be of great importance for teachers and librarians
>across the state. You can read the full report at
>
> /projects/us-pa/documents/taskforce.html
>
>The report includes sections on Health Care Facilities, Basic
>Universal Service Costing Model Refinements and Monitoring and
>Reporting/Subscribership, in addition to its major section on
>School and Libraries. I'll focus on school and library issues
>in this brief summary.
>
>1- The Task Force recommends that the PUC should approve the Final
>Report but consider modifications in response to public comments
>on the Report. They make explicit mention of the Universal
>Service: Pennsylvania online seminar as a mechanism for supplying
>this public comment. This means that the PUC will be listening
>to suggestions that you have on the content of the Report. You
>can make your suggestions directly to the PUC, or you can present
>them in the online seminar. We will prepare a summary of these
>comments for submission to the PUC.
Has the PUC said how they'll accept commentary? Is there an official email
address for said commentary, and if so, is it specific to Universal Service,
or is it lumped in with everything else?
>6- The Task Force recommends that schools and libraries phrase
>their requests for discounted services in terms of _services_
>rather than technologies and that such requests make use of
>public networking infrastructure where possible and advantageous.
Note that via this method, one needs to specify results desired, including
the desired synergistic effects with exising facilites, both yours and your
neighbor's. This would also include the enumeration of features which are
specifically undesired. This could result in one request which generates
quite disparate replies. (Like wireless vs leased vs ATM vs VSAT.)
>11- The PUC will facilitate public access to telecommunications
>tariffs via the Internet.
Yay. Searchable and cross-linked, one hopes.
>14- The PA Department of Education should use the Internet to
>assist schools and libraries in identifying funding sources
>which can complement the E-Rate program.
A low key but crucial point. The Universal Service fund cannot possibly cover
all technology needs, no matter where you draw the line (or demark :-). It's
vital to have information about other sources. Might this also involve the
Department of Ed. poking potential sources to step up to the plate?
>16- Mediation should be offered as an initial means of resolving
>disputes between schools and libraries and providers of discounted
>services. Upon failure of a mediation effort, a formal
>complaint can be filed with the PUC.
Mediation of procurement/discount, or mediation of service problems? I would
have thought there was already a mechanism for the latter.
Gene Hastings