The latest News Brief from the SLD had some useful info about VPNs: a point-to-point VPN is apparently eligible as a telecommunications service, but not as Internet access. I say "apparently" because the FCC could overrule the SLD or otherwise muddy the water.
My reading was that VPNs were telecommunications, but were "IP-enabled telecommunications," which means they wouldn't be eligible. Of course, now that the FCC has VoIP providers paying into the Universal Service Fund, perhaps the ban on IP-enabled telecommunications will be lifted. If so, I'd look for a gold rush into the education market by the VoIP carriers, which means a slew of responses to all 470s which list telecommunications services.
Where is that Eligible Services List, anyway? By my calculations, it should have been released to the public last month, so unless things get compressed elsewhere, I'd look for the FCC to again waive the 60-day period between ESL approval and the opening of the application window, and the application window to again be shorter than the traditional 80 days.
I forgot to say something that I really liked about the VPN update: it used an example. I think every policy posted should give an example or two.
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