Allied Seeks to Undo ‘Cozy’ E-Rate Relationship Between D.C. Schools and Its CTO

Allied Telecom Group seeks to block the “cozy relationship” between the District of Columbia Public Schools and the district’s chief technology officer under which the school system buys federally subsidized broadband services from the CTO and then takes federal E-rate subsidies from the Universal Service Administrative Co., said Allied’s memorandum Tuesday (docket 1:22-cv-00653) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in support of its motion for summary judgment. The district is “abusing” the E-rate subsidies, “and effectively preventing a commercial company like Allied from providing them,” said the memorandum. The defendant’s conduct relies on district law but violates federal law and therefore should be enjoined, it said. The school system and CTO entered into a March 2015 memorandum of understanding for the provision of broadband services after what the school system advertised as a "competitive procurement" in which Alllied participated, said the memorandum. The plaintiff’s proposal for the 2015 award was approximately 2% lower than CTO’s proposal, but the schools nevertheless awarded the E-rate contract to the CTO, "its sister agency," it said.