October 2001 Announcements

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

Correspondence sent to you from the SLD is color-coded by Funding Year for easy identification. For Funding Year 5, SLD correspondence will be printed on blue paper.

Correspondence relating to earlier Funding Years will continue to be color-specific. The color for correspondence relating to Funding Year 4 is pink; the color for correspondence relating to Funding Year 3 is yellow.

On Monday, November 5, 2001, at noon Eastern Standard Time (EST), the FCC Form 471 application filing window for Funding Year 5 (July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003) will open.

The window will remain open for seventy-four (74) calendar days and will close on Thursday, January 17, 2002 at 11:59 P.M. EST.

For Funding Year 5, the earliest date that a Form 471 can be filed is November 5, 2001, the date established by the SLD as the opening of the Form 471 application window. The Form 471 application window is the period during which applications will be considered as having arrived simultaneously. All Form 471 applications, including certifications, postmarked on or before the last day of the window are considered as if they had arrived on the same day, and have priority over those postmarked after the closing date of the window.

Applicants are reminded that they must complete the FCC Form 470 28-day posting period before executing any contracts for contracted services, before selecting their service provider for tariffed or month-to-month services, and before signing and submitting Form 471.

The SLD has posted a new Eligible Services List for use by applicants as they prepare their FCC Forms 471 for Funding Year 5. Applicants and service providers should review this list carefully, as it indicates changes and clarifications in the eligibility of some products and services.

In the Telecommunications Services section, the new Eligible Service List includes entries for Wide Area Network and Wireless Wide Area Network.

In addition, a description for "On-premise Equipment for End-to-End Service" is provided. This is an outgrowth of an FCC determination that, in certain limited circumstances, service providers may install components at an applicant site as part of the provision of Telecommunications Services or Internet Access.

For Internet Access, new entries have been added for Application Services (such as software provided over the Internet), Internet2, and Specialized Services (such as Voice over IP and Virtual Private Networks).

In the Internal Connections category, new or changed entries include Client Access Licenses, Servers, Virtual Private Network components, and Voice/video over IP.

The Miscellaneous section now includes entries for Dark Fiber and Professional Services.

The category of service can be a key factor in the eligibility of products and services. For example, a Virtual Private Network service may be provided over telecommunications links in the Telecommunications Services category; however such a service may not be provided in the Internet Access category. Similarly, components that have the capability for providing voice or video over IP (VoIP) can now be eligible as Internal Connections, but a service that provides VoIP over the Internet is not eligible.

The Eligible Services List is saved as a PDF file that may be downloaded and viewed using Adobe Acrobat, version 4.0 or higher. View the Eligible Services List now, or go to the Eligible Services List in the Reference Area of this web site. (If you need assistance viewing or downloading PDF files, see the PDF Help document in the Reference Area of this web site.)

In conjunction with the updated Eligible Services List, the SLD has also posted a new document that provides a more general description of eligible products and services. View the Eligible Services Framework.

The SLD has posted a new document entitled "Eligible Services Framework." This document provides a broad overview of the criteria by which a product or service is found to be eligible or ineligible for discount under the Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism.

In general, eligible products and services provide a conduit for the flow of information. This new document describes the three categories of service - Telecommunications Services, Internet Access, and Internal Connections - and specific eligibility requirements for each.

The Frequently Asked Questions section of the document includes information about amortization of up-front capital charges, eligibility of Wide Area Networks, and the demarcation between Wide Area Networks and Local Area Networks.

The Eligible Services Framework is available in the Reference Area of this web site.

More detailed information about specific products and services is contained in the Eligible Services List, located in the Reference area of this website.

SLD has sent a communication to applicants who were issued a Funding Commitment in Waves 1-6 of Funding Year 4 reminding them of the October 28, 2001 CIPA deadline.

For Funding Year 4, Billed Entities who were issued a Funding Commitment before October 28, 2001 and whose Service Start Date(s) is on or before October 28, 2001 must postmark a properly completed Form(s) 486 on or before October 28, 2001 in order to receive discounts retroactively to the Service Start Date. If the Form 486 is postmarked later than October 28, 2001, the Form 486 postmark date will become the start date for discounted services on those Funding Requests featured on the Form 486 and will reduce the funding commitment for the relevant Funding Request as appropriate. Although CIPA requirements do not apply to Telecommunications Services, Billed Entities who were issued Funding Commitments for Telecommunications Services before October 28, 2001 must still certify on a Form 486 postmarked by October 28, 2001 that CIPA requirements do not apply.

Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) for Wave 6 of Funding Year 4 were issued on September 28, 2001. SLD has temporarily suspended further production of FCDLs until after October 28, 2001. If you have not received an FCDL in Waves 1-6, check the Funding Commitments section of this web site to verify whether or not you are listed. If you are listed in Waves 1-6, that means a Funding Commitment was issued. If you have not received your FCDL, call the Client Service Bureau at 1-888-203-8100 to request a duplicate FCDL.

For information on other deadlines relating to the Form 486, please see the Instructions for Form 486 and the Frequently Asked Questions on CIPA and Form 486 on this web site.

SLD has posted two sets of additional materials to the Reference Area.

Under the heading “Letters (Samples),” you can now find samples of the Receipt Notification Letter, Receipt Acknowledgment Letter, Funding Commitment Decision Letter, and Form 472 BEAR Approval Letter. Note that these sample letters are for reference only.

Under the heading “Presentations,” you can find copies of the PowerPoint presentations that were delivered at the SLD Train-the-Trainer Workshop on September 17-18, 2001. These presentations contain information useful for training purposes.