FCC 54.511 Revised as of October 1, 2007
Goto Year:2006 |
2008
Sec. 54.511 Ordering services.
(a) Selecting a provider of eligible services. In selecting a provider of
eligible services, schools, libraries, library consortia, and consortia
including any of those entities shall carefully consider all bids submitted
and must select the most cost-effective service offering. In determining
which service offering is the most cost-effective, entities may consider
relevant factors other than the pre-discount prices submitted by providers
but price should be the primary factor considered.
(b) Lowest corresponding price. Providers of eligible services shall not
charge schools, school districts, libraries, library consortia, or consortia
including any of these entities a price above the lowest corresponding price
for supported services, unless the Commission, with respect to interstate
services or the state commission with respect to intrastate services, finds
that the lowest corresponding price is not compensatory. Promotional rates
offered by a service provider for a period of more than 90 days must be
included among the comparable rates upon which the lowest corresponding
price is determined.
(c) Existing contracts. (1) A signed contract for services eligible for
discounts pursuant to this subpart between an eligible school or library as
defined under Sec. 54.501 or consortium that includes an eligible school or
library and a service provider shall be exempt from the requirements set
forth in Sec. 54.504(a), (b)(3), and (b)(4) as follows:
(i) A contract signed on or before July 10, 1997 is exempt from the
competitive bid requirements for the life of the contract; or
(ii) A contract signed after July 10, 1997, but before the date on which the
universal service competitive bid system described in Sec. 54.504 is
operational, is exempt from the competitive bid requirements only with
respect to services that are provided under such contract between January 1,
1998 and December 31, 1998.
(2) For a school, library, or consortium that includes an eligible school or
library that takes service under or pursuant to a master contract, the date
of execution of that master contract represents the applicable date for
purposes of determining whether and to what extent the school, library, or
consortium is exempt from the competitive bid requirements.
(3) The competitive bid system will be deemed to be operational when the
Administrator is ready to accept and post FCC Form 470 from schools and
libraries on a website and that website is available for use by service
providers.
(d)(1) The exemption from the competitive bid requirements set forth in
paragraph (c) of this section shall not apply to voluntary extensions or
renewals of existing contracts, with the exception that an eligible school
or library as defined under Sec. 54.501 or consortium that includes an eligible
school or library, that filed an application within the 75-day initial
filing window for 1998 (January 30, 1998–April 15, 1998), may voluntarily
extend or renew, to a date no later than June 30, 1999, an existing contract
that otherwise would terminate between April 15, 1998 and June 30, 1999.
(2) For the 1998–1999 funding year, a contract exempt from the competitive
bid requirement, as described in paragraph (c) of this section, may be
voluntarily extended to September 30, 1999 only to the extent necessary to
permit delivery of the nonrecurring services subject to that contract and
for which discounts have been approved.
[ 62 FR 32948 , June 17, 1997, as amended at 63 FR 2130 , Jan. 13, 1998; 63 FR 33586 , June 19, 1998; 63 FR 43097 , Aug. 12, 1998; 63 FR 70572 , Dec. 21,
1998; 64 FR 22810 , Apr. 28, 1999; 68 FR 36942 , June 20, 2003]
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