January 2000 Announcements

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

Due to weather conditions, many overnight delivery services are unable to provide normal pick-up service today, Tuesday, January 25, 2000. Therefore, the deadline for electronic filers for the receipt of the Block 6 Certifications and Signature page of the Form 471 has been extended to 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, January 31, 2000. If you filed electronically by 11:59 p.m. EST on January 19, 2000, your Block 6 Certifications and Signature page must be received by the extended deadline of 11:59 p.m. EST on January 31, 2000, in order for your application to be considered complete.

Applicants whose Form 471 certifications may not have been received, were sent a fax or email on Monday reminding them of the need to send their certifications by the deadline. Many of you called or emailed our Client Service Bureau seeking to confirm the receipt of your certification materials. To all who called or sent email inquiring about the status of your certification and Item 21 description of service(s) attachment, we offer this guidance:

1. If you have proof of delivery indicating that your materials were received by the SLD before the deadline, you do not need to do anything further.

2. If you received a fax or email from us indicating that we had not received your Form 471 Block 6 Certification and Block 5, Item 21 Service Description and if you have not yet sent the documents, you may wish to send your materials via express delivery service so that you can verify that your Block 6 Certification page was received by the SLD before the 11:59 p.m. EST deadline on Monday, January 31, 2000. The Block 6 Certifications and Signature page along with the Block 5, Item 21 Description of Service(s) attachment may be sent via express delivery services to:

3. If you sent your materials earlier, but have no receipt showing your materials were received by the SLD, you may wish to re-send your materials to ensure that you have proof of delivery.

• You may print a copy of Form 471, Block 6 from the pdf version of the Form 471 on the web site and complete the required information. Remember that an original signature on your completed form is required. Be certain that your Form 471application number is written on your Block 6 Certifications page. Without the application number, we are unable to match your certification with your on-line application.

• You may send copies of the materials that were previously sent if you printed Block 6 from your on-line application (with the application number printed on your Certifications and Signature page) as long as you sign the document again providing us with an original signature.

4. For those wishing to deliver these items in person, following are the directions from the Kansas City International (KCI) Airport to the SLD application processing facility--National Computer Systems (NCS)--in Lawrence, KS. An employee will be available from 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. EST daily from Monday, January 24, 2000 through Monday, January 31, 2000, to receive your Block 6 and Item 21 attachments for Form 471 at the South entrance of this facility.

• As you depart KCI airport, follow all signs that indicate I-29 North or Topeka.

• Once on I-29 North, seek out the signs for I-435 West. Make sure you stay in the right lane. Once you are on I-435 West, it will change to I-435 South: you will stay on this road for approximately 25 miles.

• Stay on I-435 West, until you see signs for K-10 (Lawrence)

• Take K-10 (Lawrence) for about 20 - 25 miles.

• Once you approach Lawrence, the speed limit will reduce to 65 mph. You will need to stay in the right lane.

• You will see a blue sign indicating East Hills Business Park, make a right into the Business Park. At the stop sign you will make a right again. You are looking for a building named NCS (National Computer Systems).

• NCS is around the curve at the bottom of the hill on the right.

REMINDER!! January 26, 2000, 11:59 p.m. EST Deadline for Filing Block 6 Certifications and Signature Page of Form 471.

For those applicants who filed electronically by the close of the Form 471 filing window at 11:59 p.m. EST on January 19, remember that for your application to be considered within the filing window, your Block 6 Certifications and Signature page must be received by the SLD no later than 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 26, 2000.

The Block 6 Certifications and Signature page along with the Block 5, Item 21 Description of Service(s) attachment may be sent via express delivery services to:

SLD-Form 471 Certification
c/o Ms. Smith
3833 Greenway Drive
Lawrence, KS 66046
(888)-203-8100

or for those wishing to deliver these items in person, following are the directions from the Kansas City International (KCI) Airport to the SLD application processing facility--National Computer Systems (NCS)--in Lawrence, KS. An employee will be available from 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. EST daily from Monday, January 24, 2000, through Wednesday January 26, 2000, at the South entrance of this facility to receive your Form 471 Block 6, Certifications and Signature page and Block 5, Item 21 Description of Service(s) attachments.

• As you depart KCI airport, follow all signs that indicate I-29 North or Topeka.

• Once on I-29 North, seek out the signs for I-435 West. Make sure you stay in the right lane. Once you are on I-435 West, it will change to I-435 South: you will stay on this road for approximately 25 miles.

• Stay on I-435 West, until you see signs for K-10 (Lawrence)

• Take K-10 (Lawrence) for about 20 - 25 miles.

• Once you approach Lawrence, the speed limit will reduce to 65 mph. You will need to stay in the right lane.

• You will see a blue sign indicating East Hills Business Park, make a right into the Business Park. At the stop sign you will make a right again. You are looking for a building named NCS (National Computer Systems).

• NCS is around the curve at the bottom of the hill on the right.

January 20, 2000

Dear School and Library Leaders, and Service Providers,

With the closing of the Year 3 filing window on January 19, SLD has received over 36,000 requests for discounts, representing a 10% increse from last year. Over 28,000 of these applications were filed successfully on-line, tripling last year's total.

These figures are a tribute to your commitment to providing better technology to learners across this nation. We thank you for your patience and perseverance, and for your suggestions for improvement. The SLD team will be working hard to provide decisions as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Kate L. Moore
President
Schools and Libraries Division
USAC

All Technical Issues have been corrected. Please start using the question@universalservice.org mail account for addressing web site issues.

If you are still filing your Form 471, and are filing electronically, you must have a Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) for each Funding Request in order to progress through the electronic form, Block 5. Filers who do not have a SPIN will receive an electronic message as they attempt to complete the form, stopping the form completion, and directing them to call the SLD Client Service Bureau (CSB) for assistance.

Please note, SPIN assistance is available for those on-line filers who have not received from their service providers their SPIN's. (Manual filers are able to provide either the service provider name or the SPIN in order to meeting minimum processing standards.) Call the SLD toll-free help line, (888) 203-8100, and SLD representatives will provide a tool for completing the form electronically. You are urged to secure the SPIN from your service provider before you begin your electronic filing, but in cases where this is not possible, the Client Service Bureau can help you work through the electronic form. Remember that CSB hours of service are 8:00AM to 8:00 PM, ET.

State Master Contracts are those contracts which are competitively bid and put in place by an entity of state government for use by others. If you are using a state Master Contract for Year 3 E-rate eligible services and the Master Contract expires before June 30, 2001, you may be eligible for E-rate discounts for the full funding year.

If the state Master Contract expires BEFORE July 1, 2000 please follow the directions under (A) below.

If the state Master Contract expires BETWEEN July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2001, please follow the directions under (B) below.

A. State Master Contracts expiring before July 1, 2000:

1. The Billed Entity must fill out a Form 471 Block 5 Funding Request covering the REPLACEMENT Master Contract, using the instructions below:

   • Item 12: use the establishing Form 470 number for the expiring Master Contract.

   • Item 13: use SPIN number 143999999.

   • Item 14: use STATE REPLACEMENT CONTRACT as the Service Provider name. (Although a commitment of funds can be made towards the State Replacement Contract, no funds will be authorized for disbursement until there has been a SPIN change; see Step 3, below.)

   • Item 15: use "SRC" as the prefix in front of the expiring Master Contract number. (For example, if the expiring Master Contract number is WNT-98-005, use the number SRCWNT-98-005 as the contract number.)

   • Item 16: use the same billing account number (if applicable) as used for the expiring Master Contract.

   • Item 17: the allowable contract date will be pre-populated by the system (it will be related to the Form 470 number that was used in Item 12.) Manual filers may leave this item blank.

   • Item 18: the contract award date should be the day AFTER the expiration of the expiring Master Contract.

   • Item 19: the service start date should be July 1, 2000 (the beginning of Funding Year 3.)

   • Item 20: the contract expiration date will be the end of the current program year (that is, June 30, 2001.) (You will reflect the true expiration date of the replacement contract on your Year 4 Form 471.)

   • Item 21: submit a copy of the expiring Master Contract as the attachment for Description of Service.

   • Item 22: indicate the entities that will receive this service under the replacement Master Contract.

   • Item 23: For both recurring charges and one-time charges, the funding commitment will be limited to charges contained in the expiring Master Contract. That means, the monthly charges MUST be no greater than what is contained in the expiring Master Contract. (If the replacement Master Contract charges are different, they can be reflected in Forms 471 filed in subsequent years.)

   • If there was no provision for one-time charges under the expiring Master Contract, but there is such a provision in the replacement Master Contract, there can be no claim for one-time charges under the replacement Master Contract for this funding year. (You may claim one-time charges incurred in subsequent program years in Forms 471 filed in those subsequent years.)

2. When the state is ready to begin the competitive procurement process for the replacement Master Contract, the state entity negotiating the replacement Master Contract will be required to file a Form 470 (and have it posted for a minimum of 28 days prior to signing the replacement contract). If the state does NOT file the Form 470, however, you will NOT be eligible for discounts for the replacement Master Contract for the program year.

3. After the state replacement Master Contract has been signed, you must request a SPIN change (replacing the service provider designation "State Replacement Contract" with the name of the actual vendor who has been awarded the replacement Master Contract) by marking up the relevant pages from your Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL). On your FCDL you must indicate:

   • the appropriate Funding Request Number (FRN);

   • the actual service provider name;

   • the actual service provider’s SPIN;

   • the state entity’s Form 470 Application Number which was filed for the replacement Master Contract;

   • the replacement contract number and

   • the ACTUAL expiration date of the replacement contract.

4. You must SIGN and date the marked up page(s) of the FCDL. Return it to the SLD by mail express delivery to (SLD, State Replacement Contracts, P.O. Box 300, 80 South Jefferson Road, Whippany, NJ 07981).

5. You will receive notice when the SPIN change has been made.

6. Once you receive notification that the SPIN change has been made, you can submit a Form 486 for this FRN(s) using the replacement Master Contract information.

7. In subsequent program years when you file a Form 471, you will reference the state entity’s Form 470 application number as the establishing Form 470 for this replacement Master Contract.

B. State master contracts expiring between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2001:

In this case, the Billed Entity must fill out two Form 471 Block 5 Funding Requests. You must put your Funding Request(s) for the expiring Master Contract and the replacement Master Contract on the SAME Form 471.

1. For EACH Funding Request that you have under an expiring Master Contract, fill out one Block 5 covering the EXPIRING Master Contract.

2. For EACH Funding Request that you have under an expiring Master Contract, fill out an additional Block 5 Funding Request covering the REPLACEMENT Master Contract, using the instructions below:

   • Item 12: use the establishing Form 470 number for the expiring Master Contract.

   • Item 13: use SPIN number 143999999.

   • Item 14: use STATE REPLACEMENT CONTRACT as the Service Provider name. (Although a commitment of funds can be made towards the State Replacement Contract, no funds will be authorized for disbursement until there has been a SPIN change; see Step 4, below.)

   • Item 15: use "SRC" as the prefix in front of the expiring Master Contract number. (For example, if the expiring Master Contract number is WNT-98-005, use the number SRCWNT-98-005 as the contract number.)

   • Item 16: use the same billing account number (if applicable) as used for the expiring Master Contract.

   • Item 17: the allowable contract date will be pre-populated by the system (it will be related to the Form 470 number that was used in Item 12.) Manual filers may leave this Item blank.

   • Item 18: the contract award date should be the day AFTER the expiration of the expiring Master Contract.

   • Item 19: the service start date should be the day AFTER the expiration of the expiring Master Contract.

   • Item 20: the contract expiration date will be the end of the current program year (that is, June 30, 2001.) (You can reflect the true expiration date of the replacement contract on your Year 4 Form 471.)

   • Item 21: submit the description of services used for the expiring Master Contract as the attachment for Description of Service.

   • Item 22: indicate the entities that will receive this service under the replacement Master Contract.

   • Item 23: For both recurring charges and one-time charges, the funding commitment will be limited to charges contained in the expiring Master Contract. That means, the monthly charges MUST be no greater than what is contained in the expiring Master Contract. (If the replacement Master Contract charges are different, they can be reflected in Forms 471 filed in subsequent years.)

   • If there was no provision for one-time charges under the expiring Master Contract or you will not be incurring one-time charges under the expiring Master Contract during Funding Year 3, but there is a provision for one-time charges under the replacement Master Contract, there can be no claim for one-time charges under the replacement Master Contract for this filing year. (You may claim one-time charges incurred in subsequent program years in Forms 471 filed in those subsequent years.)

3. When the state is ready to begin the competitive procurement process for the replacement Master Contract, the state entity negotiating the replacement Master Contract will be required to file a Form 470 (and have it posted for a minimum of 28 days prior to signing the replacement contract). If the state does NOT file the Form 470, however, you will NOT be eligible for discounts for the replacement Master Contract for the remaining portion of Funding Year 3.

4. After the state replacement Master Contract has been signed, you must request a SPIN change (replacing the service provider designation "State Replacement Contract" with the name of the actual vendor who has been awarded the replacement Master Contract) by marking up the relevant pages from your Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL). On your FCDL you must indicate:

   • the appropriate Funding Request Number (FRN);

   • the actual service provider name;

   • the actual service provider’s SPIN;

   • the state entity’s Form 470 Application Number which was filed for the replacement Master Contract;

   • the replacement contract number and

   • the ACTUAL expiration date of the replacement contract.

5. You must SIGN and date the marked up page(s) of the FCDL. Return it to the SLD by mail or express delivery to (SLD, State Replacement Contracts, P.O. Box 300, 80 South Jefferson Road, Whippany, NJ 07981).

6. You will receive notice when the SPIN change has been made.

7. Once you receive notification that the SPIN change has been made, you can submit a Form 486 for this FRN(s) using the replacement Master Contract information.

8. In subsequent program years when you file a Form 471, you will reference the state entity’s Form 470 application number as the establishing Form 470 for this replacement Master Contract.

For those applicants wanting to deliver your Form 471 application in person, following are the directions from the Kansas City International (KCI) Airport to the SLD application processing facility--National Computer Systems (NCS)--in Lawrence, KS. An employee will be available from 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. EST daily from Saturday, January 15, through the close of the window on January 19 to receive your application at the South entrance of this facility.

• As you depart KCI airport, follow all signs that indicate I-29 North or Topeka.

• Once on I-29 North, seek out the signs for I-435 West. Make sure you stay in the right lane. Once you are on I-435 West, it will change to I-435 South: you will stay on this road for approximately 25 miles.

• Stay on I-435 West, until you see signs for K-10 (Lawrence)

• Take K-10 (Lawrence) for about 20 - 25 miles.

• Once you approach Lawrence, the speed limit will reduce to 65 mph. You will need to stay in the right lane.

• You will see a blue sign indicating East Hills Business Park, make aright into the Business Park. At the stop sign you will make a right again. You are looking for a building named NCS (National Computer Systems).

• NCS is around the curve at the bottom of the hill.

Beginning Saturday, January 14, 2000, the SLD web site will be available for on-line filers from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. EST. These on-line filing hours will continue until Wednesday, January 19, when the web site will be available from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. EST, the close of the Form 471 filing window.

The active use of electronic filing of FCC Forms 471 is good news for applicants and SLD alike, facilitating SLD's processing of your application once filed. We regret that system performance has slowed down in light of heavy volume, and are taking steps to rectify this performance problem.

On-line applicants are reminded, however, that no FCC Form 471 is complete without Block 6: a completed and signed certification form. SLD must receive your certification forms in Kansas at one of the addresses below:

If regular postal service:

SLD-Form 471
P.O.Box 7026
Lawrence, KS 66044-7026

Or, for express delivery services or U.S. Postal Service, Return Receipt Requested:

SLD-Form 471
c/o MS. Smith
3833 Greenway Drive
Lawrence, KS 66046
1-888-203-8100

Applicants must also submit at either of the above addresses on paper the item 21 attachments for the electronically filed Form 471.

Recognizing that on-line system performance has been slow, and in order to facilitate on-line filing, Block 6 certifications from Forms 471 which have been COMPLETED on-line by the closing of the window, 11:59PM, EST, Wednesday, January 19, may be mailed once the electronic filing is complete. Such certifications must, however, be RECEIVED by SLD no later than January 26, 11:59 PM, EST.

On Block 6, the certification form, you must provide an original signature, in ink, of the authorized person. Make sure your printer has, on Block 6, successfully printed the system-generated application number for the Form 471 which is being certified. The application number is the critical link to the electronic form in the SLD computer system.

If the certification block for an electronically completed Form 471 filed by January 19 is not received by January 26, the funding request will be considered as having been received the date the certification is finally received by SLD.

SLD urges on-line filers to complete their applications as soon as possible. The Client Service Bureau will be open twelve hours a day over the weekend to help you, and web site hours are being extended.

Please note that the December 15, 1999, deadline for submitting Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) forms and Service Provider Invoices for Year One (1998-1999) has passed. Although the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Schools & Libraries (USAC) will still accept BEARs or invoices for Year One commitments, please be aware that we do have an absolute deadline for USAC to make payments. While we will make every attempt to process your BEAR or invoice, we cannot promise that they will be paid. Each day beyond the December 15 deadline increases the risk that your payment may not be fully processed.

The only exceptions to the statement above are those applicants with funding commitments for non-recurring services, such as the installation of internal connections, that fall into one of the following categories:

• The funding commitment was in a Funding Commitment Decision Letter dated either near, or after, the September 30, 1999, deadline ;

• USAC approved a request to change the service provider late in Year One or after the funding year ended;

• A funding commitment was issued, but disbursements of discounts to the applicant’s service provider pursuant to that commitment had to be delayed until late in Year One or after the funding year ended (USAC will be notifying applicants who fall into this category).

With respect to these cases, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an Order (DA 99-3013, released December 28, 1999) granting a waiver of the disbursement deadline, to provide applicants and service providers sufficient time to gather and complete the necessary documentation and USAC to review invoices and make payments.

State Master Contracts are those contracts which are competitively bid and put in place by an entity of state government for the use of public entities within the state. If you are using a state Master Contract for Year 3 services and it is going to expire before June 30, 2001, you may be eligible for E-rate discounts for the full funding year if the state files a Form 470 to begin the procurement process for the replacement contract.

Here’s how to apply for E-rate discounts for the entire period of Funding Year 3 if your Master Contract expires during the E-rate program year.

1. For EACH Funding Request (FRN) that you have under an expiring Master Contract, fill out Block 5 for one Funding Request (FRN) covering the EXISTING Master Contract.

2. Fill out an additional Block 5 Funding Request (FRN) covering the REPLACEMENT Master Contract, using the guidelines below:

• Use the same establishing Form 470 number as was used for the existing Master Contract.

• In Item 13 SPIN number, put 143999999.

• Put STATE REPLACEMENT CONTRACT as the Service Provider name in Item 14. (Although a commitment of funds can be made towards the State Replacement Contract, no funds will be authorized for disbursement until there has been a SPIN change; see Step 5, below.)

• Use "SRC" as the prefix in front of the existing Master Contract number. (For example, if the existing Master Contract number is WNT-98-005, use the number SRCWNT-98-005 as the contract number in Item 15.)

• The allowable contract date will be put in by the system (it will be related to the Form 470 number that was used in Item 12.) Manual filers may leave this blank.

• The contract award date should be the day AFTER the expiration of the existing Master Contract.

• The service start date should be the day AFTER the expiration of the existing Master Contract.

• The contract expiration date will be the end of the current program year (that is, June 30, 2001.) (You can reflect the true expiration date of the replacement contract on your Year 4 Form 471.)

• The description of services MUST be the same as what is contained in the existing Master Contract. (If the replacement Master Contract contains more services they cannot be part of this request.)

• The monthly pre-discount amounts MUST be the same as what is contained in the existing Master Contract and the annual amount will cover the portion of the current program year remaining after expiration of the existing Master Contract. (If the replacement Master Contract charges are different in subsequent years, they can be reflected in Forms 471 filed in those subsequent years.)

• If there are no non-recurring (one-time) charges to be incurred under the existing Master Contract, there can be no claim for non-recurring (one-time) charges under the replacement Master Contract for this filing year. (You may claim non-recurring charges incurred in subsequent program years in Forms 471 filed in those subsequent years.)

1. When the state is ready to begin the competitive procurement process for the replacement Master Contract, it will have to file a Form 470 (and have it posted for a minimum of 28 days prior to signing the replacement contracts). If the state does NOT file the Form 470, however, you will NOT be eligible for discounts for the replacement Master Contract for the remainder of the program year.

2. You will indicate the request for a SPIN change (replacing the service provider designation State Replacement Contract with the name of the actual vendor who has been awarded the replacement Master Contract) by marking up the relevant pages from your Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL) and indicating on the appropriate Funding Request Number (FRN) the actual service provider name, SPIN, the state’s Form 470 Application Number, the replacement contract number and the ACTUAL expiration date of the replacement contract.

3. You must SIGN and date the marked up page(s) of the FCDL. Return it to the SLD by mail to (SLD, State Replacement Contracts, P.O. Box 125, 80 Jefferson St., Whippany, NJ 07981).

4. You will receive notice when the SPIN change has been made.

5. Once you receive notification that the SPIN change has been made, you can submit a Form 486 for this FRN(s) using the new contract information.

6. In subsequent program years when you file a Form 471, you will reference the state’s Form 470 application number, as the establishing Form 470 for this replacement Master Contract.

In order to assist applicants as we near the end of the Form 471 filing window, the Client Service Bureau will be open this weekend, January 15 and 16, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST. In addition, the Client Service Bureau will also be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST on Monday, January 17. For additional help with your applications, you can reach the Client Service Bureau Help Line by calling 1-888-203-8100.

Remember, the closing date of the Form 471 window is January 19, 2000, at 11:59 PM EST.

Cumulative Funding Commitment Decision Data is now available for Year 2. Reports are available in PDF format and text delimited files which have been compressed to a zip file. Instructions are availble online to help you decide which report you needand downloading reports.

• Year 2 Cumulative Funding Commitment Decision Data
  

To help applicants who represent school districts, Form 471, Block 4 has been redesigned to eliminate the need to redundantly execute the search for schools by school districts. An applicant may now search for ALL schools in a school district. From the resulting list, the applicant can add the necessary data to each selected school. (Previously, the applicant had to re-execute the search after addition of data for a given school.) Read More...