·
FY 2008 and FY 2009 Funding
Status
·
SLD Fall E-Rate Training:
Part 3 — Pre-Commitment Corrections
·
E-Rate Updates and
Reminders
·
Schools and Libraries News
Brief dated October 9th — October Deadlines
The E-Rate Central News for the Week is prepared by
E-Rate Central. E-Rate Central specializes in providing consulting,
compliance, and forms processing services to E-rate applicants. Additional
E-rate information is located on the E‑Rate
Central Web site (http://www.e‑ratecentral.com). To learn more about our services, please
contact us by phone (516-801-7804) or through our Contact Us Web form (http://www.e-ratecentral.com/contactUs/contactForm.asp).
FY 2008 and FY 2009 Funding
Status
Wave 23 is scheduled for release on October
13th for $69 million.
This brings cumulative FY 2009 funding to $1.11 billion. Priority 2 funding is still being
provided for discounts of only 85% or more, but may ultimately be available at
or below 80%.
Wave 69 for FY 2008 will be released on October
14th for an undisclosed amount; the cumulative funding year total is
currently $2.34 billion. Priority 2
funding at 87% is still pending.
SLD Fall E-Rate Training: Part 3 —
Pre-Commitment Corrections
This is the third in a series of articles discussing
important aspects of this fall’s SLD E‑rate training presentations. As noted below, copies of all slides
used in this training are available on the SLD Web site. This article is based on the training
session entitled “Precommitment Corrections.”
In two articles in these newsletters last month — http://www.e-ratecentral.com/archive/News/News2009/weekly_news_2009_0907.asp#b3
and http://www.e-ratecentral.com/archive/News/News2009/weekly_news_2009_0921.asp#b2
— we discussed the evolving SLD interpretation of the FCC’s Bishop Perry decision and its impact on
PIA review procedures.
Here’s the background: In 2006, the FCC issued the Bishop Perry Order (see http://www.e-ratecentral.com/FCC/FCC-06-54A1.doc). It was one of the most important FCC
appeal decisions in the history of the E-rate program. Besides granting 196 appeals of
funding denials resulting from “clerical and ministerial errors,” the FCC
directed USAC to change its procedures going forward to help prevent similarly
unnecessary denials.
As a result of this directive, SLD application review
procedures were changed drastically.
By permitting changes — even if they increased the amount of funding
requested — the E‑rate program became markedly more user-friendly. Changes were accepted, not only during
the Receipt Acknowledgment Letter (“RAL”) period immediately following
application submission, but later on during the Program Integrity Assurance
(“PIA”) application review process.
Earlier this summer, with no public announcement, it
became apparent that the SLD’s procedures had been drastically changed so as to
no longer permit corrections during the PIA process that would increase funding
amounts. Under a stricter
interpretation of the Bishop Perry
decision, it had been decided that increased funding changes would be accepted
only as a part of the RAL process.
In mid-September, we learned that the FCC was
considering modifications of this stricter interpretation so as to again permit
at least certain funding changes during PIA review — probably tied to a stricter
definition of “clerical and ministerial errors.”
Slides from the SLD’s training sessions, which began
shortly thereafter, suggest that new pre-commitment correction procedures are
still evolving. One slide indicates
that, while PIA will work with applicants to correct clerical errors, it will
not grant increased funding for applicant-requested changes. Another slide, however, indicates that
increases might be permitted for PIA-identified errors. Our guess as to what is going on is as
follows:
1.
The SLD will continue to
accept all Form 471 changes identified and reported by applicants during the RAL
correction process. Although it too
late to make RAL changes for FY 2009, applicants should make a concerted effort
to review — and perhaps rethink — their FY 2010 applications in the second and
third weeks of February 2010 after the filing window
closes.
2.
Once the RAL correction
period has ended, the SLD will be reluctant to permit any changes that would
significantly increase funding demand.
If total funding demand were to be a moving target, the SLD would be
unable to accurately set Priority 2 funding thresholds. Indeed, there are indications that the
reinterpretation of Bishop Perry
procedures was driven largely by requested changes made by several large
applicants which would have increased FY 2008 demand by many millions of
dollars.
3.
Post-RAL changes by PIA are
likely to be handled on a case-by-case basis, usually requiring supporting
applicant documentation. Examples
of such changes include:
·
Changes to Block 4 to add or
remove entities or correct discount rates
·
Changes to contract award or
expiration dates
·
Changes involving competitive
bidding issues
·
Changes to Block 5 to
increase dollars requested
E-Rate Updates and
Reminders
Key October Filing
Deadlines:
Only a few weeks remain to file invoices
with USAC for discounts on recurring services received during the 2008-2009
fiscal year. The October
28th invoice deadline applies to both applicant BEARs (Form 472s) and
service provider SPIs (Form 474s).
Applicants must allow enough time for their service provider(s) to review
and acknowledge their BEARs before the deadline.
The deadline for filing a Form 486
(containing the necessary certifications on technology plan approval and CIPA
compliance) is the later of 120 days from either the funding date or the start
of services. The Form 486 filing
deadline for FY 2009 funding awarded in waves 1-10 (with a service start date of
July 1, 2009) is October 29, 2009.
November deadlines for later waves are as follows:
Wave 11
11/04/2009
Wave 12
11/11/2009
Wave 13
11/18/2009
Wave 14
11/25/2009
More detail on these deadlines is provided
in the SLD’s News Brief of October 9th, referenced
below.
Fall E-Rate
Training:
The six and seventh of the eight SLD training sessions
will be held this week in Los
Angeles (Tuesday) and Portland (Thursday). Schedules and registration information
for the remaining three one-day SLD workshops are available on the SLD’s Web
site. Copies of the 2009 Training
Slides are also available (see http://usac.org/sl/about/training-presentations/training-presentations-archive/training-2009/fall/materials.aspx).
BEARs and Mandatory Electronic
Payments:
Two weeks ago, the FCC announced that it would be
revising its Form 498 and, sometime thereafter, would mandate the disbursement
of Universal Service Fund (“USF”) payments by electronic funds transfer. Last week, USAC clarified
that “[s]ervice providers in the Schools and Libraries Program that currently
use the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR Form 472) form will continue
to receive check payments even if they provide electronic banking information
until further notice.” Presumably,
SPI payments will have to be done electronically.
Broadband Stimulus Funding and the FCC
National Broadband Plan:
Over the past few months, we have included several
newsletter articles related to nationwide broadband development efforts —
including the FCC’s responsibility for developing a National Broadband Plan for
submission to Congress by next February.
While not strictly related to E-rate, these broadband initiatives may
ultimately affect the program.
Last week, the FCC released two Public Notices
requesting information and comments on the costs of broadband deployment. One, which might have E-rate
implications, requested cost estimates for connecting “anchor institutions” to
fiber (see http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2194A1.pdf). This Notice includes an appendix
providing one set of such cost estimates prepared by the Gates Foundation. Comments are due October
28th.
“Anchor institutions” are specifically defined to
include public schools and libraries (plus community colleges and
hospitals). This could be a hint
that the FCC is focusing on the role of schools and libraries, particularly in
rural areas, to support wider broadband connectivity. If so, this would probably require
changes to the E‑rate program.
The second Notice (see http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2186A1.pdf)
seeks comments on the impact of “middle” and “second” mile access on broadband
availability. Comments are due
November 4th.
Since both Notices request cost data that might be
deemed proprietary, the FCC also released a companion Protective Order last week
to help protect the confidentiality of submitted data (see http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2187A1.pdf).
Schools and Libraries News Brief dated
October 9th — October Deadlines
http://www.universalservice.org/sl/tools/news-briefs/preview.aspx?id=260
The SLD News Brief for October 9, 2009, discusses the FY
2008 BEAR and FY 2009 Form 486 deadlines (summarized above). It also provides the following invoicing
tips for both applicants and service providers.
1.
Tips for applicants filing
BEAR forms:
a.
Gather your customer bills
and reconcile them before filing BEAR forms.
b.
Make sure your service
providers have filed a Service Provider Annual Certification (“SPAC”) Form 473
for FY 2008.
c.
Allow sufficient time for
your service provider(s) to review and approve your BEAR
forms.
d.
USAC encourages applicants to
file their BEAR forms online.
e.
Applicants filing online
BEARs should ask their service providers if they know how to access USAC’s
online E-File System.
f.
Don’t wait until the last
minute to file FY 2008 BEAR forms.
2.
Tips for service providers
approving BEAR forms:
a.
Tell your customers what your
requirements are for reviewing and approving BEAR forms.
b.
Get online access to review
and approve BEAR forms.
c.
Check online at least once
each week for pending BEAR forms.
3.
Tips for service providers
filing SPI forms:
a.
Gather your customer bills
and reconcile them before filing SPI forms.
b.
Make sure you have filed a
SPAC form for FY 2008. (Note: this
tip applies to service providers handling applicant BEAR forms as
well.)
c.
USAC encourages service
providers to file their SPI forms online.
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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.
