January 1999 Announcements

Please click on the topic below to view the most recent announcements:

The SLD is aware that some applicants may not be able to meet the January 31, 1999 deadline for filing their Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Forms due to the timing of the receipt of their funding commitment decisions letters, and due to the processing time for completing the BEAR Form (including obtaining a signed Block 4 Acknowledgment from their service provider). Please be advised that the SLD will NOT ENFORCE the January 31, 1999 deadline for submitting the BEAR Form.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their BEAR Forms as soon as possible after receiving their funding commitment decisions letters. Until we receive and process your BEAR Forms, your service providers are not required to reimburse you for eligible services you have paid for to date, nor will they be able to begin rendering discounted bills for your services. Once all of our funding commitment decisions letters for the first program year have been issued, SLD will announce a final deadline for submission of all BEAR forms still outstanding.  Click here for the BEAR Form and Instructions.

The SLD has created two new application tools: versions of the Form 470 and Form 471 that you can download from this Web Site, fill in on your computer, print out, and mail to us. This represents another alternative to filing your Forms 470 and 471 online or hand-writing/typing these applications. These Forms 470 and 471 are virtually identical to the PDF (Portable Document Format) files that have been available on our Web Site, but now you can enter information directly into the forms rather than just printing out blank hard copies and then filling out your applications by hand.

Please note: These forms do not electronically transmit data to the SLD, but instead make your completion of the paper forms easier and neater.

You must have Adobe's free Acrobat Reader 3.01 installed on your computer in order to access the Forms 470 and 471.  Click here for information on obtaining this software, as well as specific instructions for downloading these forms from this Web Site.

Please read SLD's "Helpful Hints" for using the new Type-In and Print-Out Forms 470 and 471.

With Wave 6 of our 1998 funding commitment decisions letters, which we will issue this week, we’ve been able to further refine our working thresholds for funding internal connections requests. Specifically, Wave 6 will feature:

• funding commitments for internal connections at the 77% discount level and above, and
• notification that funds will NOT be available for internal connections requests of 61% and below.

Our previous internal connections thresholds were funding for 80% and above/no funding for 49% and below, respectively.

We do not yet know definitively if we will be able to fund internal connections requests at discount levels from 62% to 76%, but each day of processing brings a more precise measure of the funds that will be available for internal connections after all Priority One requests for telecommunications services and Internet access are accommodated.

In the meantime, with Wave 6 we will also begin issuing separate funding commitment decision letters responding to different service requests within one application. This will mean that applicants with internal connections requests between 62% and 76% included on their Forms 471 along with telecommunications services and/or Internet access requests will not have to wait for further refinement of our internal connections funding thresholds before getting a commitment on their Priority One services.

Our goal is to get information into applicants’ hands more quickly while encouraging all to move forward with their applications for Year 2. As a reminder, the 100-day application window for the 1999-2000 program year will close on March 11, 1999, at 11:59 p.m. ET. In order to apply "in the window," you must submit Form 470, wait 28 days, and then file Form 471 so that your entire application, including paper attachments and certifications, is received by SLD by March 11. We urge you to start the application process NOW, and to file your Form 470 no later than February 5, 1999.

Click Here to view the Top 10 Reasons you should file your Form 470 and Form 471 Now!

Click here to read a letter from the President of SLD, Kate L. Moore.  This letter includes an update to the SLD waves schedule, guidance on applying for Year Two, and more information about the SLD merger with USAC.

The SLD is aware that some applicants and vendors are receiving database error messages while using certain areas of this Web Site.  Please be assured that we are seeking a solution.  

An Example of the Error: "Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers error '80004005'

Unspecified Error

/forms/eligible_review.asp, line 252"

Tips on working through this problem:

1. Try to access the SLD Web Site in the early morning (before 10 AM ET) and in the evening (after 7 PM ET).  The occurrence of this error is related to the number of users accessing the SLD Databases.

2. Use the Web Site's "Previous" and "Next" buttons to move back and forth through the area of the Site where you are experiencing the error.

3. If you are experiencing this problem while filing online, you may need to use the application's "Save and Exit" feature to save your information and complete your application at a different time.

We deeply regret this inconvenience at this critical time, and we are working aggressively to solve this problem.

NOTE: For those applicants that are facing deadlines for filing the Form 470, please be aware that the SLD has developed a new application tool: a version of the Form 470 that you can download from this Web Site, fill in on your computer, print out, and send to the SLD (See the announcement above.)  While this Form 470 does NOT electronically transmit data to the SLD, it may make your completion of the paper form easier and neater.

Click here to download state reports on the Funding Commitment Decisions in Wave Five.   This wave features 4,575 letters committing $211,929,917.27 to school and library applicants in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

A Pilot Year for Online Form 471

For the 1999-2000 application period, the online electronic version of Form 471 is being launched as a pilot.

Development of a fully functioning, robust online application system for Form 471 in time for this application period required SLD to make some very specific technology choices.

We are actively exploring how to broaden the reach of the Form 471 online application, and the experience of those who use the 1999-2000 version will help shape the online options for 2000-2001.

Special Note: The strict technical specifications of the pilot online filing of the Form 471 in no way constitute an endorsement of a particular product or technology.  The SLD is committed to providing access to our Web Site for users utilizing a variety of platforms, operating systems, and browsers.

Technical Requirements for Online Form 471

To successfully file Form 471 online for 1999-2000, applicants will need the following technologies:

• Computer: PC (Intel-based or IBM compatible), 486 or higher
• Operating system: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT or higher
• Browser: Internet Explorer 4.0, Version 4.71 (with capability for running Visual Basic scripts).  (Note: To determine which version of Internet Explorer you have, click "Help" at the top of your browser, then click "About Internet Explorer.")

During this pilot year, the online version of Form 471 will NOT be available to applicants using:

• Macintosh computers or other non-PC (Intel/IBM-compatible) computers
• Non-Internet Explorer browsers such as Netscape
• Versions of Internet Explorer earlier than IE 4.0 / V 4.71 or BETA versions of I.E. 5.0

Alternatives for Filing Form 471

Applicants who cannot or choose not to file Form 471 online can still download/print a hard copy of the form and instructions from the SLD Web Site (www.sl.universalservice.org/Reference/471ORtoc.asp), or may call 888/203-8100 to request a copy of the form by mail. Applicants are also encouraged to monitor the Web Site and SLD fax-on-demand service (800/959-0733) for updates, guidance, and helpful hints for filing their Form 471.

The Schools and Libraries Division has issued a special wave of E-rate funding commitment letters to library applicants. In this special wave, over 1,300 letters were mailed to library applicants from every state allocating nearly $8 million. This wave brings libraries to 18% of the funding commitment letters and 5% of the E-rate funds issued to date compared to overall library applications which represent 16.5% of all E-rate applications requesting an estimated 3% of the total dollars requested. To view or download detailed state reports from Wave 4b - the special library wave -- click here.

The Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) and the Rural Health Care Corporation (RHCC) have merged with the Schools & Libraries (USAC). The merger is effective on January 1, 1999. One entity instead of three is now responsible for administering the telecommunications universal service programs for the Federal Communications Commission. The universal service programs help provide access to modern telecommunications services to schools, libraries, rural health care facilities, and consumers regardless of geographic location or socioeconomic status. The new structure will enable the integrity and focus of the targeted programs to be maintained while bringing additional efficiencies to the administration of the programs.

Read more about the merger of the SLC and RHCC into USAC.

How do you contact SLD with specific questions about your funding commitments?  How do you appeal a funding decision?   In the "Appeals and Corrections" in the Reference Area, the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD, formerly known as the SLC) provides specific instructions on appeals and questions procedures. The SLD will soon provide detailed Corrections Procedures.

E-rate applicants for the 1999-2000 program year now have the option of filing Form 471 electronically online, rather than manually, on paper. (Applicants can currently download and print out a paper copy of Form 471 for manual filing, and will continue to have this option after online filing becomes available.) Before beginning the Form 471 online, please review the Technical Requirements for filing electronically (below).

Form 471 is the second step in the E-rate application process, and can be filed no earlier than 28 days after posting of Form 470 (which is also available for online filing). In Form 471, applicants list the E-rate eligible services they have ordered and calculate both the costs of these services and their appropriate E-rate discounts for them.

PLEASE NOTE: Applicants who choose to file Form 471 online are still required to provide paper versions of their signed certification page, as well as the attachments for Items 14 and 17. Form 471 will not be considered complete until these paper portions of the application have been received by SLD.

The Schools and Libraries Corporation has established a 100-day window during which all who successfully file both their Form 470 and Form 471 will be handled as if they had filed on the same day. After the window closes, applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. The window opened on December 1, 1998 and will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 11, 1999.