E-rate Eligible Services List Released

One and Two. Among the “outdated, legacy and other non-broadband” services no longer eligible for support are Web hosting, email and paging. Category One voice services are being phased out, and Category Two support for LAN/WLAN-focused components, basic maintenance of eligible broadband internal connections components, and managed internal broadband services is limited, the order said. In response to comments that past versions of the ESL were “too long, difficult to understand, and confusing to work with,” the new list will not include the ESL glossary, special eligibility conditions or the ineligible services that had been posted at the end of each category of service, the order said. In response to comments applicants may not be aware of the services that are no longer eligible for E-rate support, the list includes a chart of those services in an appendix, the order said. The ESL also clarifies that multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) is eligible for Category One E-rate support, and the language in the list about digital transmission and Internet access services emphasizes that the commission understands flexibility is needed to provide support for services that facilitate high-speed connectivity, said the order. The ESL also redefines caching, which is eligible for Category Two support.