September 2003 Announcements

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

The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) feature at the Client Service Bureau (888-203-8300) will be unavailable on Sunday, September 28, 2003 between 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM (central standard time).

The SLD expects to post a revised version of the Eligible Services List in the near future. The Eligible Services List dated October 18, 2002 has been removed from the SLD web site in anticipation of this new information.

The SLD is offering a preview of the webcast training that will be provided for applicants and service providers starting in October 2003. This preview will connect registrants to the live Beginners’ Session of the SLD’s Train-the-Trainer workshop, which introduces very basic E-rate concepts and forms from the viewpoint of applicants.

This session is limited to the first 75 participants who complete the registration form. The session will start promptly at 9:15 AM EDT on Wednesday, September 24 and last about 2½ hours. It will require both a telephone line and a computer with at least a 56K speed connection. This session will not be interactive; the telephone line provides access to the audio portion of the webcast. Participants will pay their own long-distance toll charges for the telephone connection.

This training will be offered again in a streamlined, recorded version that will be accessible without charge from the webcast site. In this version, the audio portion will be available through the registrant’s computer speakers, and a separate telephone line will not be necessary. Training on other topics will also be available.

Please click here to register for E-RATE Program Overview for Beginners.

Today the Schools and Libraries Committee approved the opening and closing dates for the Funding Year 2004 Form 471 application filing window. The window will open at noon on Wednesday, November 5, 2003, and close at 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, February 4, 2004.

Beginning Monday, September 8, the SLD will apply the normal deadline for information requests. The SLD will again attempt to contact applicants who were not successfully contacted during the summer period, using the applicant's preferred mode of contact. The SLD will then complete the information request process described in the Deadline For Information Requests posted in the Reference Area of this web site.