December 2001 Announcements

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

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released an Order (FCC 01-376) which amends its procedural rules for filing appeals. The amended rules are "due to recent emergency events in Washington, D.C. resulting in the unforeseeable and understandable disruption of regular mail delivery and of the processing of other deliveries due to the threat of contamination." The amended rules will become effective on the date the Order is published in the Federal Register (the "effective date") and will remain in effect until further notice. Read More

Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) for Wave 11 of Funding Year 4 (the Funding Year beginning July 1, 2001) will be issued on schedule. However, due to the holiday, detailed and cumulative information on Wave 11 will not be posted to this web site until Thursday, January 3, 2002. This information would ordinarily be available on Monday, December 31, 2001.

For the first time in Funding Year 4, this wave will include approved requests for Internal Connections at discount percentages of 88% and above.

The Federal Communications Commission has released new information in Public Notice DA 01-2919 on filing hand-delivered or messenger-delivered appeals. Effective December 18, 2001, hand-delivered or messenger-delivered appeals will be received by the FCC at a new filing location in Washington, DC.

The Appeals Procedure document posted in the Reference Area of this web site has been updated to reflect the information contained in the Public Notice on delivery location, hours, and other requirements for appeals delivered by hand or by messenger.

Applicants are reminded that they must comply with any applicable state or local requirements when participating in the competitive bidding process used in the universal service discount mechanism. This is especially important in areas that require payment bonds on public projects.

The Schools and Libraries Client Service Bureau will be closed on Monday, December 24 and Tuesday, December 25, 2001 in observance of the Holiday Season. The Client Service Bureau will resume normal operations on Wednesday, December 26, 2001 at 8:00 a.m. EST.

The Schools and Libraries Client Service Bureau will be closed on Tuesday, January 1, 2002 in observance of New Year's Day. The Client Service Bureau will resume normal operations on Wednesday, January 2, 2002 at 8:00 a.m. EST.

Applicants can now determine the status of their Form(s) 471 filed for a particular Funding Year. This feature is available from the "Apply Online" page of this web site.

To determine the status of your filed Form(s) 471, click on the button labeled "Application Status" in the Form 471 column of the "Apply Online" page. Then enter your Entity Number and Funding Year, and click "Search." The search will return a list of Form(s) 471 for the Entity Number and Funding Year specified, with the most recent status of each Form 471. A table listing each Application Status message and an explanation of the message will precede your search results.

Michael Powell, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has appointed eight individuals to the Board of Directors of the Schools & Libraries (USAC). The appointments are a result of a FCC public notice soliciting nominations to fill the vacancies that would be created when the terms of six current members expire on December 31, 2001, and to fill two vacant positions on the board. The USAC Board represents the diverse stakeholders that participate in the universal service programs. The terms are staggered and six expire each year. Read More

SLD recognizes that some products and services available in the commercial marketplace may contain both eligible and ineligible components, and has developed procedures for accommodating these situations. The two methods for mixed eligibility components are called "cost allocation" and "ancillary use." They are separate and distinct, and are not necessarily available in all cases.

Cost Allocation: Most often, applicants who seek products and services that have a combination of eligible and ineligible components must cost-allocate the components so that requests for funding include only the eligible portion. Item 23 of Form 471 includes columns expressly for this purpose. The document "Cost Allocation Guidelines for Services that Contain Eligible and Ineligible Components," posted in the Reference Area of this Web site, provides further information. Applicants who specifically seek ineligible components, in addition to eligible components, must utilize the cost allocation approach for the request to be approved for funding.

Ancillary Use: In limited circumstances, the principle of ancillary use applies. In such cases, an eligible product or service can include ineligible components on an ancillary basis, and the full package can be eligible for discount if certain conditions are met, such as:

• The package is the most cost-effective bid for the eligible product or service, without considering the ineligible features.
• The package is a standard product offering that includes the ineligible features as an intrinsic part, with no separated pricing available.

SLD has received reports that some applicants have issued Requests for Proposals that require ineligible components as part of the RFP. Applicants are on notice that the cost allocation guidelines must be employed in such cases. The conditional exception for ancillary ineligible services would not apply.

Applicants for Funding Year 5 that have issued a Request for Proposals seeking both eligible and ineligible components, and that have failed to specify the need for separated costs, may avoid denial of their funding request by obtaining separate pricing from bidders, and asking for discounts only on eligible products and services. In such cases, the original RFP need not be re-issued and re-competed under SLD policy, assuming that this modification of the terms of the solicitation is in compliance with all state and local procurement laws and regulations.

SLD has issued this notice to warn applicants that seeking ineligible components in a Request for Proposals or other solicitation instrument, without obtaining separate pricing for eligible and ineligible components, will result in denial of any associated funding request.

Note the following examples which illustrate applicable SLD program rules:

Example 1: An applicant seeks bids for Internet access service, and asks that the bids include ineligible filtering. The applicant must ensure that the ineligible filtering is costed fairly and separately from the eligible Internet access, or the entire funding request risks denial.

Example 2: An applicant seeks basic Internet access service. An evaluation of bids received indicates that the most cost-effective offering includes ineligible filtering. This bid may be accepted if it complies with the requirements for bundled Internet access service: (1) the ineligible components are not priced or sold separately, (2) any ineligible content, if included, is minimal, and (3) the applicant determines that this bundled offering is the most cost-effective means for obtaining Internet access. The evaluation of cost-effectiveness must be made without considering the benefits related to ineligible features.

In limited circumstances, the evaluation of cost-effectiveness may consider the overall package rather than be limited only to considering the eligible features. Such an expanded bid evaluation is permissible when the full package is a reasonable business bundling, and the prices of the eligible components are reasonable, e.g., meet the conditions as provided by SLD's Cost Allocation Guidelines for Services that Contain Eligible and Ineligible Components.

Applicants filing online who have not completed their Form 471, Block 6 certification now have another opportunity to complete their certification electronically. A new "Certify Complete" button has been added to the "Apply Online" page for applicants to use in situations such as the following:

• If they completed Form 471, Blocks 1-5 online and clicked "Submit," but exited the system before completing their Block 6 certification.

• If they completed Form 471, Blocks 1-5 online, chose "Paper Certification" and clicked "Submit," but now want to request a User ID and PIN to electronically certify their Form 471.

• If they encountered a problem with completing their Form 471, Block 6 certification after they clicked "Submit".

Remember that the person authorized to sign Form 471 must have successfully completed the PIN Request Process and received a User ID and PIN before they can electronically certify Form 471. Click here for more information on how to request a PIN.

If applicants would like to electronically certify their Form 471, they must have already clicked the "Submit" button on the "Stop Sign" page during the online application process. The authorized person must follow the instructions below to electronically certify the form:

1. Click the "Apply Online" icon on the SLD home page to go to the Apply Online page. Once there, click the button labeled "Certify Complete" below the Form 471 header.

2. Enter your 471 Application Number and your Security Code Number, and click the "Electronic Certification" button.

3. Enter your User ID and PIN in Block 6, Item 34.

4. Check the box below Item 38 to affirm your compliance regarding the use of your PIN.

5. Click the "Done" button at the bottom of the certification page.

6. If your electronic certification is successful, you will receive a dialog box with a Certification ID Number (Cert ID). Click "OK" in the Cert ID dialog box, and then print a copy of the Block 6 certification page. Note that your Certification ID Number appears in Item 34 on your printed copy. Your certification is now complete. Remember to submit a copy of this page with your Item 21 attachment(s).

7. If your electronic certification is not successful, you will be allowed four additional attempts to certify the form using your User ID and PIN. After the fifth unsuccessful attempt, you will be returned to the manual certification page. You can then either complete your certification and submit it manually, or you can attempt to complete your certification electronically at another time. Remember that your Form 471 Block 6 certification must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on January 17, 2002 or postmarked on or before January 17, 2002 in order for the request to receive consideration as inside the window. Click here for further information on the application filing window deadline.

The opportunity to use the "Certify Complete" function on the Form 470 is now available as well.

Additional filing tips for Form 471 applicants:

• Applicants who clicked "Submit" but did not print a copy of their Form 471, Block 6 certification page to sign and submit manually can use the "Certify Complete" button to print a copy of the certification page.

• Applicants who have begun a Form 471 online but who have not yet clicked "Submit," can click "Continue Incomplete" on the "Apply Online" page, enter their Form 471 Application Number and Security Code Number, complete any missing information, and then click the "Electronic Certification" button at the bottom of Block 6 to electronically certify their form.