E-Rate News for the Week of 11/04/02 – 11/08/2002
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FY 2003 Filing Window Is Open
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Responding to Vendor Form 470 Inquiries
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BEAR Deadline Extension for FY 2001
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AT&T Wireless E-Rate Status
The E-Rate News for the Week, prepared by E-Rate Central, is sponsored by the
Council of Chief State School Officers ("CCSSO") and made possible by a grant from
the AT&T Foundation. Official SLD news is in the "What’s New!" section of the SLD’s
Web site (http://www.sl.universalservice.org). Additional information is on the State
Education Telecommunications Alliance’s ("SETA") Web site (http://www.e-
ratecentral.com).
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FY 2003 Filing Window Is Open
The Form 471 application window for FY 2003 opened on Monday, November 4,
2002. The Form 471 online filing system is operating on a new platform this year
and there are still some early technical problems; the SLD Web site recommends
waiting a few days before beginning the online filing process. Applicants
experiencing problems with the system, including large applicants attempting to
use the Copy Block 4 option, should call the SLD Client Service Bureau at 888-
203-8100.
The Form 471 window will close at 11:59 p.m. E.S.T. on Thursday, January 16,
2003. Applications mailed or completed online after that time are unlikely to be
funded. Please do not wait until the last minute to file.
Applicants, who have not yet filed Form 470s for FY 2003, should do so now.
The Form 470s must be posted on the SLD Web site for a minimum of 28 days
before vendors are selected, contracts are signed, or Form 471s are signed and
submitted.
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Responding to Vendor Form 470 Inquiries
The Form 470 is considered by both the SLD and the FCC to be a critical part of
the E-rate application process. The 28-day posting requirement is designed to
give all service providers access to applicant needs so that they can compete for
an applicant’s business in a fair and open competitive environment. It is
important, therefore, that every applicant understand its obligations and
responsibilities for responding to sales inquiries from vendors generated as a
result of a posted Form 470.
In many cases, vendors simply use posted Form 470s to expand their prospect
lists for sending general sales material. An applicant receiving general vendor
information may learn something by reading it, but is under no obligation to
proactively respond.
However, if a vendor responds specifically to a posted request for service, either
to ask for more details about service needs or to propose a specific product or
service, then the applicant should respond appropriately. Here are a few practical
suggestions for responding to vendor inquiries:
a. Be polite. This is not an E-rate rule, but is an admirable social grace.
b. Recognize that a vendor can access posted Form 470 information either by
viewing a specific applicant’s Form or by downloading summary data for multiple
applicants. Vendors using summary data do not know what preferred mode of
contact has been specified or any details of posted service requests. In response
to an inquiry made on this basis, you might suggest that the vendor review your
specific Form 470.
c. If a vendor calls, but your Form 470 indicates that the preferred mode of contact
is written (i.e., mail, fax, or e-mail), it is acceptable to simply ask the vendor to
respond accordingly.
d. If there is someone else in your organization best equipped to deal with a specific
vendor inquiry — perhaps the alternative contact listed in Item 11 — refer the
vendor to the correct person.
e. If you have a formal (or even informal) RFP available for a requested service,
make sure the vendor is given or can procure a copy.
f. Keep a file of vendor material and/or a log of vendor inquiries. Even if you don’t
select a specific vendor for FY 2003 services, the vendor’s material may be
useful as future needs develop. It also documents a serious effort to respond to
vendor inquiries as required by the Form 470 competitive bidding process.
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BEAR Deadline Extension for FY 2001
As of FY 2001, the SLD set a new invoicing deadline for applicant BEAR forms
and supplier invoices. In most cases, applicants filing BEAR forms for FY 2001
recurring services had to have such forms postmarked by October 28, 2002,
which was 120 days after June 30, 2002, the last day to receive services. In
apparent response to applicant confusion on this new deadline, and a number of
requests for extensions, the SLD has extended the FY 2001 recurring service
invoice deadline until December 8, 2002.
The SLD has stressed the point that this is a one-time deadline extension just for
FY 2001 recurring services. More generally, the basic invoicing deadline remains
120 days after the last date to receive services or 120 days after the date of the
Form 486 Notification Letter, whichever is later.
Note, in particular, that the invoice deadline for non-recurring services for FY
2001 has not been extended. Therefore, for most applicants and vendors, the
non-recurring invoice deadline will be January 28, 2003. (120 days after
September 30, 2002, the normal last date to receive non-recurring services).
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AT&T Wireless E-Rate Status
Many schools using AT&T Wireless for cellular services received a postcard last
week notifying them that the company would no longer be participating in the E-
rate program after this funding year and advising them not to list AT&T Wireless
on their FY 2003 applications.
By week’s end, AT&T Wireless notified the SLD that it was retracting this
decision, will continue its participation, and will so notify all customers who had
received the first postcard. Current customers, therefore, can again select AT&T
Wireless for cellular services for FY 2003.
As a general rule, suppliers of Internet Access and Internal Connection services
are free to participate or not participate in the E-rate program as they chose. As a
result of this recent AT&T Wireless confusion, however, the FCC is examining
whether E-rate participation by a telecommunications carrier is mandatory.
Disclaimer: This newsletter may contain unofficial information on prospective E-
rate developments and/or may reflect E-Rate Central’s own interpretations of E-
rate practices and regulations. Such information is provided for planning and
guidance purposes only. It is not meant, in any way, to supplant official
announcements and instructions provided by either the SLD or the FCC.
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