Gearing Up for E-rate Year 5

Gearing Up for E-rate Year 5 Technology Coordinators’ Videoconference December 5, 2001

E-rate starts Kindergarten MIN

Today’s Lesson Plan • Year 5 dates to remember • Forthcoming MiCTA contracts • New notification letters • Things made easier (so they say) • Not-so-easy Kindergarten Math • Year 5 tidbits • Pre-K tidbits • Supply and Demand MIN

Year 5 Dates • July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003 (Blue) • Form 471 application window: • Noon, Monday, November 5, 2001 through 11:59PM Thursday, January 17, 2002 • Forms 470 must be posted by Dec. 20, 2001 • CIPA compliance must be in place by July 1, 2002 if you certified that you were attempting to comply with CIPA in Year 4 MIN

MiCTA Contracts • Michigan collaborated with MiCTA once again to establish a statewide master contract for Internal Connections • Will result in a statewide Form 470 • Contracts will be good for three years (USF funding years 5, 6 and 7) • Contracts will be posted to MiCTA web site as soon as they become finalized MIN

New Notification Letters • Form 486 Notification Letter • Currently under development at the SLD to confirm receipt of your Form 486 • Form 500 Notification Letter • Currently under development at the SLD to confirm receipt of your Form 500 MIN

Things Made Easier(So they say) • SPIN Changes • Change is allowed under state & local procurement laws • Change is allowed under terms of contract • Original Service Provider (SP) has been notified of the intent to make change Thanks to the Copan ruling! MIN

Things Made Easier • Product and Service Substitutions • 1-to-1 changes no longer required • Does not have to be initiated by the SP • “Same functionality” now more broadly interpreted MIN

Things Made Easier • E-certification • Now operational for Form 470 and 471 • Applicant must apply for User ID and PIN • PINs assigned only to those individuals who have hand-signed Forms 471 and 486 that have been data entered at SLD • User ID and PIN will reside with the “person,” not an entity MIN

Things Made Easier • Forms to have E-cert capability • 470 - Services Requested • 471 - Services Ordered • 486 - Services Confirmed • 500 - Service Change • 472 (BEAR) - Applicant Invoice • Refer to SLD’s “E-certification Update” presentation on MIN and Merit web sites MIN

Things Made Easier • FCC Deadline Extensions • Deadline for delivery and installation of non-recurring services is the Sept. 30 that follows the June 30 close of the relevant funding year • Non-recurring services may be delivered through Sept. 30 of the following calendar year if certain “decisions” (e.g., FCDL SP change approved ) are issued after March 1 MIN

Things Made Easier • Item 21 Attachments • May be sent to the SLD after the Jan. 17, 2002 Year 5 Form 471 postmark deadline • Must be received by the SLD within a reasonable timeframe • Form 471 must still be filed electronically and certified by Jan. 17, 2002 • Your Form 471 application cannot be processed until Item 21 Attachments are received • Label as “Item 21 Attachment” with Form 471 app # MIN

Things Made Easier • Block 4 Worksheets • You can now copy Block 4 Worksheets from application to application within the Funding Year • You can now copy Block 4 Worksheets from Funding Year 4 to Funding Year 5 Simplifies online filing! MIN

Kindergarten Math • One-time “off-premise” charges of $500,000 or more must be amortized over at least three (3) years • “On-premise” equipment lease costs cannot exceed 67% of funding amount requested to acquire services • $500,000 eqpmt + $60,000 recurring = $560,000 • $500,000/$560,000 = 89% which is > 67% MIN

Kindergarten Math • 30 percent rules still in effect • If more than 30% of a funding request is for ineligible services, the entire request will be denied • If more than 30% of a telecommunication or Internet access request is deemed as internal connections, the entire request will be turned into internal connections and most likely not funded MIN

Year 5 Tidbits • Original signature requirement eliminated • Photocopied signature or signature stamp allowed • New materials on “Reference Area” of SLD web site: • “Administrative Offices and Buildings Fact Sheet” • “Calculating Your Discount” section • “Demonstrating Compliance with Program Rules” section (new!) MIN

Year 5 Tidbits • Eligible Services List - revised Oct. 19, 2001 • “Tiptoeing Through the E-rate Minefield” • Entertaining article (satire) on the E-rate program • http://www.andmore.com/Tiptoeing%20through%20the%20e-rate%20minefield.html MIN

Pre-K Tidbits • Technology Plans • Required for anything beyond POTS • Watch out for approval expiration dates • Entire consortium will likely not be penalized due to lapse in approval or lack of a tech plan by one member (reference FCC LOA appeal and Form 479 instructions) MIN

Pre-K Tidbits • BEAR Deadlines • PY4 • Due 90 days after the vendor’s 486 notification letter • PY3 • Consider deadline to be 3 months after submitting your PY3 Form 486 (since there are no 486 notification letters to applicants for PY3) MIN

Pre-K Tidbits • Free Filtering Service • “We-Blocker” • Same capabilities as N2H2 genre (on a limited use basis) • Is claimed to meet CIPA requirements • Telecommunications Carriers List • http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cib/form499/499a.cfm • Not all telecom carriers are “common carriers” MIN

Supply and Demand • Number of applications has steadily increased over the life of the USF program MIN

Supply and Demand • Total discount dollars funded to applicants reached program cap in Years 2 and 3 MIN

Supply and Demand • Michigan schools and libraries have benefited from the E-rate program to the tune of $260 million over the past 4 years • Not an easy way to earn a buck, but there are definitely $ to try and go after MIN

Resources • Resources to go to for assistance • www.sl.universalservice.org • www.state.mi.us/cio/min • www.merit.edu • www.micta.org • http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dlcl/pld/cipafaq.html • Ask your E-rate Training Coordinator MIN

Time for Recess! Laurie Taylor Michigan Information Network 517.241.1642 taylorL4@michigan.gov MIN

Gearing Up for E-rate Year 5