FCDL Comment:
DR1: FRN 2494061 will be denied because you failed to select the most cost-effective service offering in violation of the FCC's rules. Specifically, you sought E-rate funding for Internet Access from multiple service providers for the same locations and time periods on its FCC Form 471 Application 915021. The FCC's Macomb Order held that applicants are prohibited from selecting multiple providers to provide requested identical services when the additional service providers bids were not the most cost-effective. In the Macomb Order, the Commission found that Macomb violated its rules when it selected multiple service providers to provide T3 lines and did not show that the lowest-cost bidder was unable to provide all of the necessary requested T3 lines. The Commission further explained that it would have been more cost-effective for Macomb to seek all of the necessary T3 lines from the single, lowest bidder. The documents that you provided to USAC on 03/03/2014, indicate that you selected both Time Warner Cable Information Services, LLC and SmartCom Telephone, LLC to each provide the requested 1GB dedicated Internet Access circuits to the same locations during the same time periods. In addition, the documents provided to USAC do not indicate that Time Warner Cable Information Services, LLC was unable to provide all of the requested Internet Access services to Laredo ISD. Therefore, because SmartCom Telephone, LLC services were more expensive than Time Warner Cable Information Services, LLC services, SmartCom Telephone, LLC services were not the most-cost effective offering as required by the FCC's rules and the Macomb Order.