A.

Funding Commitments for FY2007

B.

FY2008 Window Opening and Form 470 Download Tool

C.

FY2008 Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letters

D.

Service Provider Training (Spring 2008)

E.

Invoicing Update

F.

Other

G .

General Questions Received by E-mail

1. When will the conference call minutes (on the SLD site) be updated? The last update was from the March 2007 call.

2. A service provider requires an applicant to complete a "service order form" before beginning an e-rate eligible service. This form asks the applicant to confirm the installation date (and perhaps the type of service). Only the applicant is required to sign this form. The service provider requires only this document to begin service. There are no other documents involved in ordering the service. Should the applicant list this service as a "month-to-month" service or a "contracted" service on the 471 form? ?

3. We have not been receiving automated emails telling us that we have BEAR forms to certify online. When I called the SLD this morning they said that there are no automatic emails. Only after certifiying a BEAR form will we receive an email. Is this correct? It is different than what we were told at the USAC training.

4. How can a service provider cancel a BEAR form that has the wrong amount on it? We have one that has been online for over a month and communicated to the applicant that the amount was wrong. However, it is still in the system to be certified. How can we get this removed from the system?

5. The deadline for FY2006 BEARs and most FY2007 486s passed on October 29. Weren't the applicants supposed to get reminder letters about the deadline? With the letters, weren't they given a 20 day "grace" period? Our company called hundreds of applicants to remind them and no one had received a letter or reminder e-mail. Also, in your 10-26 News Brief (which are GREAT), you mentioned "If you miss the deadline, you will have to take additional steps to successfully file these forms"; what steps do you recommend? File an Invoice Deadline Extension on the "Submit a Question" and attach your BEAR? Or wait until you get an approval and then file BEAR? If the applicant filed the extension after October 29, will it be approved? Thanks.

6.  When does an applicant have to have a service provider signature before filing a 471? I read the wording below to indicate that a vendor signature is never needed before filing the 471. We are specifically concerned about our state telecommunications contract "CalNet 2 which need a state and a vendor signature in addition to the applicant signature" If all of these signatures are required, can they be obtained before the certification but after the submittal as the wording below seems to indicate. The wording "in place" needs to be clarified if I am incorrect.

Except for services to be delivered under non-contracted tariffed or month-to-month arrangements, FCC rules require that an applicant sign a contract with the service provider before signing and submitting a completed (certified) Services Ordered and Certification Form (Form 471). Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they had a signed and dated contract in place at the time they certified the Form 471. The service provider signature and date is not a program requirement. Applicants must also comply with state and/or local contract law.