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 Federal  Communications  Commission  FCC  06-  91 
 CONCURRING  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 Re:  In  the  Matter  of  NEC-  Business  Network  Solutions,  Inc.,  File  No.  EB-  03-  IH-  0738 
 No  program  may  be  doing  more  to  close  the  digital  divide  for  rural  Americans  and  the  economically  disadvantaged  than  the  E-  Rate  program.  Indeed,  there  are  many 
 hard-  working  people  in  the  Schools  and  Libraries  Division,  at  the  FCC  and  Justice  Department,  and  elsewhere,  who  are  to  be  commended  for  successfully  bringing  the 
 Internet  to  our  schools  and  libraries  and  for  ensuring  that  waste,  fraud  and  abuse  are  ferreted  out.  NEC-  Business  Network  Solutions,  Inc.  ’s  (NEC)  convictions  and  its  six 
 month  debarment  from  the  program  is  evidence  of  the  joint  effort  underway  to  eliminate  any  wrongdoing  from  the  E-  Rate  program.  I  therefore  concur  in  today’s  Order. 


 However,  as  a  general  matter,  I  believe  that  a  six  month  debarment  period  is  often  times  little  more  than  a  slap  on  the  wrist  for  companies  engaged  in  efforts  to  defraud  the 
 E-  Rate  program  of  millions  of  dollars  and,  in  the  end,  our  children  of  the  tools  they  need  in  the  Digital  Age.  There  were  mitigating  circumstances  in  this  case,  and  the  companion 
 case  of  Inter-  Tel  Technologies,  Inc.,  that  support  a  shorter  debarment  period.  However,  a  stronger  penalty  may  have  been  warranted  given  the  importance  of  the  E-  Rate  program 
 and  the  severity  of  NEC’s  actions. 
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