October 2003 Announcements

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

WebEx training for service providers is now open for registrations for the following topics:

• E-rate Overview
• Eligible Services List
• Program Updates

For further details on times and dates and to register, please go to https://universalservice.webex.com and follow the registration instructions. We will be adding more topics as we finalize time and date details. WebEx training notices will be posted on the web site and you can also receive notices through our service provider list serv. You can be added to the list to receive the service provider agenda and WebEx training notices electronically by sending an E-mail message to service provider listserv and put "subscribe sld-sp" in the body of the of the message.

Following is a list of the documents or pages that have changed on this web site since the last posting on updates:

A new page listing Suspensions and Debarments from the E-rate program has been posted to the web site. This page can be accessed from the “Suspensions & Debarments” link in the Quick Links box.

The document CIPA Guidance for Libraries for FY2003 has been updated, principally to clarify the circumstances under which consortia containing libraries unwilling to make a CIPA certification are required to file a Form 500 within 30 days of filing a revised Form 486.

The sample letters Form 486 Notification Letter, Form 500 Notification Letter, and Funding Commitment Decision Letter have been updated to match the text of letters currently being sent to applicants.

The Eligible Services List indicates what products and services are eligible for E-rate discounts. A new List has been posted in anticipation of the upcoming 2004 Funding Year application process. View the Eligible Services List.

SLD will host its first WebEx Setup and Preview session on October 17, 2003, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight time. Please go to universalservice.webex to register. We are offering this to enable service providers to log onto WebEx and become familiar with some of the basic functions to be used during training sessions. If more than 130 service providers register, we may offer a second session on the same day.

You will be sent a second notification that contains detailed information on how to log in and dial in to the session.

Two important deadlines are approaching for certain Funding Year 2003 and Funding Year 2002 applicants.

The deadline for postmarking invoices (Form 472 BEAR Forms and Form 474 SPI Forms) for FY2002 recurring services is October 28, 2003. For more information, please refer to Invoicing Deadlines and Extension Requests posted in the Reference Area of this web site.

If your FY2003 FCDL was dated on or before July 1, 2003 and your Service Start Date for FY2003 services is July 1, 2003, your Form 486 must be received or postmarked no later than October 29, 2003. For more information, please refer to Form 486 Deadlines posted in the Reference Area of this web site. Remember that if you received a partial funding commitment on a funding request and are appealing that reduction, you must still meet the Form 486 deadline for that funding request.

The revised Form 486 is now available online. The online version may be accessed by selecting “Apply Online” and selecting Form 486 PDF or Form 486 Interview. To use the online form, your browser must be Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher or Netscape 6.2 or higher. If you select the PDF version of the Form 486, you must have Adobe Reader 5.0 or higher. When you access the Form 486 PDF version with Adobe Reader 5.0, you may be invited to upgrade to the latest version of the Adobe Reader. This invitation is made by Adobe and not the SLD. The Form 486 PDF will work with the Adobe Reader 5.0.

When you access the online Form 486 PDF, you will first see a list of “Important Instructions for Filing Form 486 PDF Online.” We urge you to read these instructions and follow them carefully. The instructions contain important information that will allow proper navigation and submission of the form.

If you have any questions please contact the Client Service Bureau.

The SLD held a Train-the-Trainer workshop on September 24–26, 2003, in Arlington, Virginia. The presentations from this workshop have been posted to the "Train-the-Trainer" 2003 Workshop page in the Reference Area of this web site.