September 2000 Announcements

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

The E-rate application cycle for Funding Year 4 (July 1, 2001 - June 30, 2002) will feature a window opening date in early November 2000 and a window closing date in mid-January 2001. All funding requests received within the window will be considered as having been received simultaneously.

The specific opening and filing dates will be posted here and disseminated when the information becomes available.

As in Year 3, the window opening and closing dates will apply only to the filing of the FCC Form 471; the FCC Form 470 for Year 4 may be filed now. If you are filing Form 470 for Year 4 electronically on this web site, make sure you select the correct Funding Year: 07/01/2001 - 06/30/2002.

Yesterday, US Department of Education released a report on the E-Rate, entitled "E-Rate and the Digital Divide: A Preliminary Analysis from the Integrated Studies of Educational Technology." This report concludes that the program is achieving its legislative intent, with support going to poorer communities. The full text of the report can be found at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/eval/elem.html#technology

A number of applicants were identified in the FCC Order released on August 11, 2000 (FCC 00-260) which pertained to the Year 3 filing window. These applicants were given a special waiver to refile Forms 470 by September 11, 2000 and properly complete and file Forms 471 by December 11, 2000. The SLD will consider such Forms 471 filed by these applicants as if they were received within the original filing window that closed on January 19, 2000.

The complete list of the applicants given this special waiver can be found under the Service Provider Information section of the Vendor Area of the SLD website. You may also click here to view the list.

Applicants and service providers have approached the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) to request the ability to change products and/or services indicated on the Item 17 attachment for Funding Years (FY) 1 and 2 or Item 21 for FY 3 (and future FYs) to a Form 471. In certain limited circumstances, the SLD will allow changes in products and/or services after fund commitment.

The SLD will view these limited changes in products and/or services as minor contract modifications. These changes may be required if a service provider is currently unable to provide some of the products and/or services indicated in a Form 471 because the products and/or services are no longer offered. Service providers have also informed the SLD that, in certain circumstances, they are now able to provide better products and/or services for less cost due to technological advances. Allowable changes might be one-time costs such as purchase charges for equipment or monthly costs for services such as Internet access. A change in service might occur when a service provider upgrades the service provided to the school or library, for example, by converting from dial-up access to dedicated connection, such as T1. If the service change meets the criteria below, it would be approved.

Please note that the product/service changes discussed here can not involve a change in the service provider. Procedures for changing service providers can be found at the SLD website <www.sl.universalservice.org>, Reference Area, Spin Changes and Correction Procedures.

Minimum Requirements

In accordance with the definition and the rules for minor contract modifications, the SLD requires that one of the following two parameters be met for service changes:

In all instances, product and/or service substitutions will only be permitted if:

In certain limited circumstances, the change or substitution in products and/or services may reduce the cost to the applicant, hence reducing the amount of universal service requested. Although this money is now essentially "freed up," applicants will not be permitted to re-allocate these funds elsewhere, or purchase additional product and/or service, or increase the quantity of these specific products and/or services. Applicants should notify SLD of "freed up" funds by filing a Form 500, upon notification of the approved substitution request.

Process:

Service providers and applicants should work together to provide the proper documentation to the SLD regarding the proposed change in products and/or services. Service providers who have received approval for the change of products and/or services are required to send a copy of the letter to all applicants wishing to make the same substitutions. Any applicant who wishes to make approved substitutions must submit a supplemental Form 471 with Block 2, Item 7 checked, indicating to the SLD that this application updates a previously submitted application with a minor contract modification. The SLD will not require the entire supplemental Form 471 to be filled out. However the applicant is required to complete Blocks 1, 2 and 6, and to include a list of all of the FRNs for that service provider for which substitutions are proposed. In addition, a copy of the approval letter from the Manager - Products & Services to the service provider must be attached to the supplemental Form 471. Substitutions will only be processed for products and/or services identified on the SLD approval letter. Any supplemental Form 471 application for change submitted without the approval letter attached will be denied and returned to the applicant.

Service providers wishing to submit requests for service changes and/or substitutions should contact Louis J. Tiboldo, Manager - Products & Services by telephone at 973-884-8016. Schools, libraries and service providers requesting general information about the process should call 888-203-8100.