An annual compliance meeting for telecommunications companies that supply services to schools and libraries as part of the federal E-rate program was expected to include a discussion of pricing rules, an issue highlighted in an investigative news report this month.
ProPublica, a nonprofit online news organization, found that companies had long ignored the rules, and that the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees the E-rate program, had done little to enforce those rules.
The Universal Service Administrative Co., which manages the E-rate and other universal-service fees, was scheduled to hold the compliance meeting this past weekend.
A follow-up story from ProPublica suggested the move to educate companies on E-rate pricing was in direct response to its initial story, but a statement released by the FCC said it was the result of discussions dating back to last August.
