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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554
                                             
In the Matter of                        )
                                   )
Request for Review                      )
of the Decision of                      )
the Universal Service Administrator by       )                        
               )
Mifflin County Library                  )    File No. SLD 10711       
Lewistown, Pennsylvania                 )                   
                                   )
Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service    )    CC Docket No. 96-45
                                   )
Changes to the Board of Directors            )    CC Docket No. 97-21
of the National Exchange Carrier             )    
Association, Inc.                       )
                                   
                                
                             ORDER

Adopted:  November 16, 1999                       Released:  November 16, 1999
                    
By the Common Carrier Bureau:

     1.   The Bureau has under consideration a Letter of Appeal filed by the Mifflin  County
Library (Mifflin) on June 7, 1999, seeking review of a decision issued by the Schools and
Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (Administrator). 
Mifflin seeks review of the SLD's denial of its application for discounts under the schools and
libraries universal service support mechanism.  For the reasons set forth below, we grant the
Letter of Appeal to the extent provided herein.

     2.   Under the schools and libraries universal service support mechanism, eligible
schools, libraries, and consortia that include eligible schools and libraries, may apply for discounts
for eligible telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections.  

     3.   By letter dated February 24, 1999, the SLD denied Mifflin's request for discounts. 
Mifflin appealed the SLD's decision by letter dated March 17, 1999.  On May 14, 1999, the SLD
affirmed its initial funding decision. The Administrator's Decision on Appeal indicated that each of
the funding request numbers (FRNs) that were not funded included both one-time priority two
costs and monthly priority one costs and, as a result, the entire funding 
request was recategorized by SLD as internal connection services so as to "avoid the possibility of
treating priority two services (internal connections) as priority one services (telecommunications,
dedicated and Internet access services)."  It further indicated that approved procedures do not
permit SLD "to split funding requests."

     4.   In its request for review of the SLD's decision that is now before us, Mifflin
challenges the SLD's practice.  It argues that there was never a rule indicating that, if categories
of service were mixed, all items within an FRN would be reclassified to priority two status.  

     5.   In Williamsburg-James City, the Commission determined that, in cases where, as
here, an FCC Form 471 was submitted before the establishment of the Commission's rules of
priority in the Fifth Reconsideration Order, applicants could not have been aware of the need to
segregate carefully their service requests.  Consequently, the Commission held that, in appeals
involving such circumstances, applications should be remanded to SLD for reprocessing, with
priority one and priority two services being considered separately on their own merits.  We,
therefore, remand Mifflin's application and direct SLD to issue a new funding commitment
decision letter based on the originally submitted FCC Form 471 and any further consultations with
the applicant that may be necessary.       

     6.   ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to authority delegated under
sections 0.91, 0.291, and 54.722(a) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.91, 0.291, and
54.722 (a), that the Letter of Appeal filed by the Mifflin County Library on June 7, 1999 IS
GRANTED to the extent provided herein. 

     7.    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Administrator IS DIRECTED to
implement the decision herein.                    
                              
               
                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


                              
                              Yog R. Varma
                              Deputy Chief, Common Carrier Bureau