August 1999 Announcements

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

The E-rate application cycle for Year 3 may feature a window closing date as early as mid-January, 2000 to permit final funding commitments well in advance of the July 1, 2000 program year start.

After extensive consultation with applicants and service providers, the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) concludes that timely funding commitments are the top Year 3 priority for all. Having funding commitment decisions in hand 45-60 days in advance of July 1will allow applicants to effectively plan summer deployments while permitting service providers to integrate discounts into their billing systems.

To meet the demand for earlier funding commitments, the SLD is contemplating a much earlier application window for Year 3 than for previous program years. While the windows for 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 had April closing dates, the 2000-2001 window may close in January 2000.

More details about the overall Year 3 application cycle are expected soon. For updates, please watch our Web site, www.sl.universalservice.org.

If you Have a Long Procurement Cycle

Applicants whose state or local procurement laws require a multi-month competitive bidding process are welcome to initiate that process by filing a Year 2 Form 470 right now (online filing preferred) for services they hope to include in their Year 3 applications. Remember, the Form 470 must be posted for at least 28 days before vendors are selected, contracts signed, and Form 471 submitted. Applicants are urged to use the Year 2 Form 470 to secure Year 3 services only when necessitated by state and local procurement requirements.

While it was hoped that the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Form (Form 472) would be fully replaced in Year 2 of the E-rate by discounted bills from service providers, the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) recognizes that the BEAR may be a necessity for many applicants for some services.

Here’s how to know whether or not you may need to use the BEAR , and how you should handle Column I of Form 486.

Ask each of your service providers: Do you plan to issue discounted bills to your E-rate funded customers for Year 2?

• If the answer is YES, then you will not need to file a BEAR Form for that service, and you should enter NO in Column I of Form 486.

• If the answer is NO or DON’T KNOW YET, assume that you may need to use a BEAR Form for this service for at least part of Year 2. Enter YES in Column I of Form 486. If it turns out your service provider is able to render discounted bills after all, and we receive a Service Provider Invoice Form before getting a BEAR from you, we will simply contact you for confirmation that a BEAR will not be forthcoming. ENTERING YES IN COLUMN I OF FORM 486 IS NOT IRREVOCABLE.

As soon as we have more definitive information about the duration and reach of the BEAR for Year 2, we will publicize this news through our Web site, newsflash, and other means.

The Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Schools & Libraries (USAC) announced today that founding Vice President for Outreach and Education, Mickey Revenaugh will depart the SLD on September 3 to head-up the marketing efforts for a high-tech, networking company.

“Over that last year and a half, Mickey has worked tirelessly and selflessly to help schools and libraries in every corner of the country participate in the E-rate. Her hard work and dedication will have a lasting impact on the E-rate,” said SLD President, Kate L. Moore. “Mickey has touched many people in the E-rate community because of her accessibility and desire to help. She will be missed greatly, and we all wish her the best in her new endeavors.”

Ms. Revenaugh, who has been with the SLD since December 1997, was the first Vice President for Outreach & Education. While at the SLD, she chaired the Year Three Task Force that has made a number of recommendations to streamline and improve the E-rate application process. Under Ms. Revenaugh’s leadership, the SLD has conducted more than 100 in-person outreach sessions, 15 video-conferences and attended 30 conferences in an effort to educate school and library officials about the E-rate and to assist them in the application process.

Ms. Revenaugh is leaving SLD to be Director of K-16 Marketing at Broadband Networks Inc., which designs, manufactures and integrates high-speed interactive video, data and voice networks, with education deployments from rural Nebraska to downtown Houston.

Prior to joining the SLD, Ms. Revenaugh was the Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Learning and Instructor magazines. During her 11 years at Scholastic, Inc., she also served as Editorial Director for Sponsored Educational Materials and Editor-in-Chief of America’s Agenda and Teaching and Computers magazines. She attended Smith College and is a summa cum laude graduate of Yale University.

An additional 1,061 E-rate funding commitment letters were issued today by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Schools & Libraries (USAC). In the seventh wave of letters, the SLD committed over $50 million in discounts for telecommunications services, Internet access and internal connections. Consortium applicants received 17% of the commitments this week, which is larger than in previous waves where consortium applicants received on average 5% of the funds.

To date, nearly $480 million in Year Two commitments have been made in 14,000 letters to school and library applicants. Two-thirds of Year Two commitments ($316 million) have gone to needier schools and libraries (those where 50% or more of the children in the community qualify for free lunches).

Click Here to view Wave 7 Funding Commitment Reports by State

The Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Schools & Libraries (USAC) is sending out another weekly wave of E-rate funding commitment letters for more than $48 million. Approximately 1,300 applicants will receive notification on their Year 2 requests for discounts on telecommunications services, Internet access and internal connections.

This weeks' wave of letters brings the total amount of Year 2 E-rate discounts committed to $429 million. The SLD has sent letters 13,500 in response to the more than 32,000 applications submitted within the filing window.

Click Here to view Wave 6 Funding Commitment Reports by State

YEAR TWO FUNDING COMMITMENTS AND BEYOND...

Once again, the Schools and Libraries Division of USAC is gearing up to issue Funding Commitment Decisions Letters to its applicants. If you have applied for the second year of E-rate discounts, tune into the special SLD program available online via streaming video which focuses on the upoming funding commitments process. The webcast and guidance about the tools you need to access the program are available at:
http://www.doe.state.in.us/media/video/guide.html   and

http://www.intel.com/education/erate/broadcast.htm

Learn when to expect your Funding Commitment Decisions Letter and the next steps you must take to take advantage of your discount.

The Program provides:

• A schedule of Year 2 Funding Commitment Decisions Letters;

• Step-by-step advice on how to file a clean Form 486;

• News and updates from Years 1 and 2

The Schools and Libraries Division of USAC urges all applicants who CAN file their Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Forms by August 15, 1999 for Year 1 recurring services to do so. Timely filing of the BEAR form will mean timely reimbursement to you for services rendered through June 30, 1999.

Applicants who cannot complete and file their BEAR paperwork by August 15, 1999, are assured that their BEAR forms will be accepted as soon as they can get them in, as long as it is by December 15, 1999. We recognize that those who are just now receiving Year 1 funding commitments resulting from appeals, from the Tenth Order extension of early expiring contracts, or other administrative adjustments will need extra time to complete their BEAR forms for these newly committed funds, as will applicants taking advantage of the grace period through September 30, 1999 for one-time installations. We do VERY bly encourage all applicants to file their BEAR forms as soon as possible before the final deadline of December 15, 1999.

Please also remember that, in order to process your BEAR form for reimbursement, we must have received and accepted your Form 486 for the relevant services. Any applicant who has not yet filed a Form 486 for services received during Year 1 should do so immediately to assure the proper flow of discounts.

For answers to your questions about the BEAR for Year 1, please see "Tips for Completing Your Form 472 BEAR" on the SLD Web site at www.sl.universalservice.org/Reference/472/472tips.asp, or call the help line at 888/203-8100.

The Schools and Libraries Division/USAC has finalized its procedures for considering requests from E-rate applicants to correct or change Service Provider Identification Numbers (SPINs). The circumstances under which the SLD can approve SPIN correction or change requests are fairly narrow, and all such requests must be made in writing. These guidelines are effective immediately for both Year 1 and Year 2.

The Guidelines are available in the Reference Area of the Web Site.  Click on the button "Appeals and Corrections" to find this document, or click on the link below.

http://www.sl.universalservice.org/Reference/spin.asp

In Wave Five, over 80% of the funds committed will go to help schools and libraries where half or more than half, of the children qualify for free lunches. Today, the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Schools & Libraries (USAC) mailed an additional 1,700 letters committing another $110 million in E-rate discounts to E-rate applicants.

Over $380 million in discounts has been committed to some 12,000 school and library applicants across all 50 states and the District of Columbia in Year Two. Rural communities have received approximately 23% of the discounts with 76% going to urban applicants.

The E-rate, officially known as the Universal Service Fund for Schools and Libraries, provides discounts ranging from 20% to 90% to all K-12 public and private schools and all public libraries on three types of service - telecommunications services, Internet access and internal connections. In Year One, the E-rate provided over $1.67 billion in discount to more than 25,000 school and library applicants. The program is administered by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Services Administrative Company (USAC). USAC oversees the administration of all universal service support, which includes the High Cost program, the Low-Income program, the Rural Health Care program and the Schools and Libraries program.

Click Here to view Wave 5 Funding Commitment Reports by State

With Wave Four of funding commitment letters mailed today the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of Schools & Libraries (USAC) is nearly doubling the amount of Year Two funding going to schools and libraries for discounts on telecommunications services, Internet access and Internal connections. At four weeks into the process, the SLD has funded nearly one third (or 10,491) of the more than 32,000 Year Two E-rate applications.

This week, the SLD committed an additional $131 million to more than 1,700 applicants raising the total of Year Two E-rate commitments from $138 million to over $270 million. The average funding commitment in Wave Four is $76,000, equal to the average discount request reflected in the SLD's April 16 statistical sample of demand.

Of the over 1,700 applications, schools represented 25% and school districts applications made-up for 52%. Nearly 20% of the letters will go to libraries and the remaining 3% to consortia applicants. The Chicago Public Schools will receive over $61 million - the largest discount awarded for Year Two. The Pioneerland Library System in Minnesota is the largest library awardee in this wave, with $261 thousand.

Funding continues to reach the needier schools, as 87% of the dollars committed in this wave is associated with applicants qualifying for 70%-90% discounts. These include applicants from urban areas where at least 50% or more of the children qualify for the National Free Lunch Program and applicants in rural communities where at least 35% or more of the children qualify.

Click Here to view Wave 4 Funding Commitment Reports by State