Libraries Want Streamlined E-rate Procurement Rules

Representatives of the American Library Association met with FCC staffers on the group’s push for streamlined E-rate rules. The group said it discussed its proposals in the “Delete” and E-rate streamlining proceedings. The Trump administration “has made streamlining procurement a key priority and exceptions to competitive bidding for low-cost purchases are widely accepted and understood [as] part of responsible and cost-effective procurement,” said a filing Thursday in docket 02-6.

Purchases of E-rate eligible services and equipment of less than $10,000 “should be exempt from Commission bidding requirements but be subject to current local library and school procurement rules,” the association said. The FCC should also permit a current $3,600 exemption “to apply to all internet service providers, not just internet service from commercially available providers, not just commercially available products -- there is no reason to eliminate a potentially cheaper source of internet access.”