1. E-Rate News for the Week of 11/11/02 - 11/15/2002  

E-Rate News for the Week of 11/11/02 - 11/15/2002
 
 
Wave 16 Funding for FY 2002
 
Online Form 471 Filing Status
 
Reminder: Form 470 Allowable Contract Date is Critical
 
E-Rate Central Training Slides Available
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).
 
Wave 16 Funding for FY 2002: PASCO County received internal connection
commitment
Wave 16 of Funding Year 2002 will be released on Tuesday, November 19. Total
funding in this Wave is approximately $42 million for 300 applications. The
cumulative total for FY 2002 is now $1.46 billion for over 27,600 applications.
Numerically, the vast majority of the applications for this year have been funded,
but less than 60% of the total estimated funding has been awarded.
Internal Connection funding is being provided for applicants at the 90% discount
rate. No Internal Connection funding is available below 80%. The availability of
Internal Connection funding for discounts in the 80-89% range cannot yet be
projected, but requests for funding in this range are currently being reviewed by
the SLD.
 
Online Form 471 Filing Status
As indicated in last week’s E-Rate News of the Week, the SLD was experiencing
some difficulties with its new online Form 471 application platform. These
problems continued through the week and, as a result, the SLD has reverted to
last year’s filing system (under which, the Web page format did not match the
comparable paper form). With the old system in place, two points should be
noted:
(1) If a partially completed Form 471 has already been entered online, the
applicant should still be able to continue the application under the revised
system.

(2) If a library applicant uses the "Copy Block 4" function to pre-populate discount
rate information from last year’s application, care should be taken to review, and
correct if necessary, the discount rates for this year using the revised calculation
methodology described in the new Form 471 instructions. The new instructions
are available at http://www.sl.universalservice.org/data/pdf/i471yr6.pdf.
Unless there are pressing reasons to file online now, we recommend waiting for
maybe a week or so, before beginning the online filing process to avoid any
minor problems that may arise as the system is changed. Applicants needing to
file online now, and experiencing system problems, should call the SLD Client
Service Bureau at 888-203-8100.
 
Reminder: Form 470 Allowable Contract Date is Critical
We have recently encountered several applicants rushing to sign contracts for
2003-2004 services. While we strongly encourage applicants not to wait until the
waning days of the Form 471 filing window (which closes January 16, 2003), we
remind applicants that vendors for FY 2003 cannot be selected and contracts
cannot be signed before the Form 470 Allowable Contract Date, 28 days after the
posting the applicants’ Form 470s on the SLD Web site. Contracts signed before
the Allowable Contract Date will be considered ineligible for E-rate discounts.
 
E-Rate Central Training Slides Available
Over the past month, E-Rate Central has conducted a series of half-day E-rate
workshops, primarily in New York State. A slightly streamlined copy of the
PowerPoint presentation slides used in these presentations is available on the E-
Rate Central Web site at http://www.e-ratecentral.com/2002slides.asp.
Applicants interested in a more detailed presentation can find copies of the slides
used by the SLD in a special two-day September workshop in the Reference
Section of the SLD Web site at
http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/Presenations2002.asp.
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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