E-Rate 2013:
Completing form 471
Funding Year 2013
July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014
2013-14 school year
Helpful Resources
• Online filing:
www.sl.universalservice.org/menu.asp
• Funding commitments/disbursements:
www.e-ratecentral.com
• Iowa E-rate information
www.iptv.org/iowa_database/erate
www.sl.universalservice.org/menu.asp
www.e-ratecentral.com
www.iptv.org/iowa_database/erate
http://iptv.org/iowa_database/erate
Helpful Resources
• SLD Client Service Bureau
– 1-888-203-8100
• Pam Jacobs (schools and districts)
– 515-975-0071
– pam.jacobs@iowa.gov
• Jay Peterson (public libraries)
– 515-281-4499
– Jay.peterson@lib.state.ia.us
Topics for today’s session
1. Purpose of form 471
2. Form 471: Filing reminders
3. Form 471: Common errors (and how to avoid
them)
4. Form 471: Go through the online application
Purpose of form 471
Form 471--What is it?
–It is often called “the E-rate application.”
–The form requires you to indicate
»The E-Rate eligible services you want
funded
»The service provider you want to provide
the services
»The $ amount you anticipate are needed for
each service for 2013-14 school year
E-rate Checklist
See http://iptv.org/iowa_database/erate
1. Write tech plan and e-mail to AEA or
State Library
– Only needed for priority 2 requests. Not needed
for telecommunications services and Internet.
2. File form 470
– Hopefully filed by now (must be filed no later
than February 14, 2013)
– Put any priority 2 requests on a separate form
470 (away from priority 1 requests)
E-rate Checklist (cont.)
3. Develop bid evaluation criteria document .
See a sample at
http://www.usac.org/_res/documents/sl/pdf/sa
mples/samples-checklist-vendor-selectiontemplates.pdf
4. Evaluate bids and sign contracts/make
commitment to service provider
– Wait at least 28 days after filing form 470 for this
step
Competitive Bidding
Bid Evaluation Matrix (sample)
Factor
Points Available Vendor 1
Vendor 2 Vendor 3
Price of the ELIGIBLE goods
and services
30
15
30
25
Prior experience w/ vendor
20
20
0
20
Prices for ineligible services,
products and fees
25
20
15
25
Flexible Invoicing: 472 or 474
Environmental objectives
15
5
0
5
15
3
15
2
Local or in-state vendor
5
5
5
5
Total
100
65
68
92
E-rate Checklist (cont.)
5. File form 471
– Deadline to file for 2013-14 school year is
March 14, 2013 . Put priority 2 requests on
a separate form 471 away from priority 1
(telecommunications services and Internet.)
6. File form 471 Item 21 attachment
– Deadline to submit Item 21 attachments for
2013-14 school year is March 14, 2013
E-Rate Checklist (cont.)
7. Answer questions from USAC Program Integrity
Assurance
– These questions usually come via e-mail in March-summer
months
8. File form 486
– Must wait for funding commitment decision letter to arrive
before filing form 486. Funding letter usually arrives
between May and late summer. Must file form 486 no
later than 120 days after the Service Start Date (usually
July 1) or 120 days after the date of the funding
commitment decision letter, whichever is later.
E-rate Checklist (cont.)
9. Contact service provider(s) to get discounts on
monthly bills
10. No discounts on monthly bills? File form 472 (aka
BEAR form)
– This form is only filed if no monthly discounts are given.
Usually filed either quarterly, semi-annually, or annually,
your choice! Must be filed AFTER receiving services and
after paying the full bills. Final BEAR form filed no later
than late September AFTER the funding year/school year
ends.
Form 471 Filing reminders
Reminder
CIPA requirement (applies only to
districts/schools/AEAs)
By July 1, 2012, amend your Internet safety
policy (if you haven’t done so) to provide for
monitoring of online activities of minors and
the education of minors in appropriate online
behavior, including interacting with other
individuals on social networking sites and in
chat rooms, cyberbullying awareness and
response.
CIPA requirement
For more details on the CIPA requirement
for schools and districts, see form 470
webinar slides at
www.iptv.org/iowa_database/erate
471 application “window”
• Filing window opened December 12,
2012
• Filing window closes March 14, 2013
–Reminder: You must complete Item
21 attachment by the deadline of
March 14, 2013
Form 471 reminders
• Use Internet Explorer 6.0 and above. Other browsers may
cause errors.
• Do not use the 'Back' and 'Forward' buttons on your browser
or the 'Enter' key to move through the online forms.
• Clear your Internet cache and your temporary Internet files
before you begin. If you will be submitting multiple forms,
clear your Internet cache after each form.
• Turn off your pop-up blocker or set your browser to allow
pop-ups in order to receive valuable warnings and error
messages.
Form 471 reminders
• The “audience” for form 470 is service
providers.
• The “audience” for form 471 is your
reviewer at USAC/Program Integrity
Assurance.
Form 471 reminders
1. Block 1: Item 3b FCC Registration number is
needed
(This item should pre-populate….but if not, see
http://www.iptv.org/iowa_database/erate/
“Required E-Rate Codes…”)
Form 471 reminders
2. Block 1: Item 6 g asks for Consultant
Registration Number
Do not complete this item…leave it blank
(it is only used by companies who are paid to
complete E-rate applications)
Form 471 reminders
3. Block 2:
a. Schools and districts complete column 1 and
libraries complete column 2. Indicate services
you are requesting on this application
b. On block 2, you must enter something on
each line, even if it is zero (0)
Form 471 reminders
4. (There is no block 3)
Block 4 asks for additional information
Check boxes are included for
•
•
•
•
New construction
Administrative entity
Classifications (e.g. PreK, HeadStart, Dormitory, Noninstructional facility) .
Do NOT check HeadStart! Do NOT check Adult
Education.
Most of you will NOT
check any box in 9.
Form 471 reminders
5. Item 21 attachments are due no later
than March 14, 2013 (close of the form
471 “window”)
Common form 471 errors and how
to fix them
Form 471 common errors
A. Applicants don’t wait the full 28 days
after filing form 470 before choosing a
service provider or signing a new
contract
FIX: Wait at least 28 days before
evaluating bids and choosing service
provider(s)!
Form 471 common errors
B: “Old” form 470 which led to a multiyear contract did not allow for bandwidth
growth in 2013.
Example: A 3-year contract was signed in early 2012. But
the form 470 description of the service you filed last year
was inadequate for your 2013 needs. (e.g. you asked for
exactly 10 mg of bandwidth on your “old” form 470 but
need 15 mg for 2013).
Form 471 common errors
• FIX: If you are using an existing multi-year
contract that resulted from an “old” form 470,
take a look at your old form 470 to ensure the
description of services and quantity/capacity
is adequate for 2013-14 time period.
– If the “old” form 470 did not allow for needed
bandwidth growth, file a new form 470 to allow
for it.
Example: Form
470
from 2012.
This form led
to signing a
3-year contract.
Form 471 common errors
C. Incorrect contract award and expiration dates
are listed in block 5 on form 471 (or incorrect
form 470 is cited)
Fix: See guidance and examples of contract
scenarios on the next slides.
How to handle existing contracts
• Make sure that there was an “establishing”
form 470.
A. Old format (2010 and before): 470 had item 7b
checked (including multi-year contract box) and
470 was posted at least 28 days before contract
was signed.
B. New format (2011 and beyond): 470 was posted
at least 28 days before contract was signed.
How to handle contracts
Scenario 1: Two-year contract was signed a year ago
(February 2012). Form 470 was correctly filed at
least 28 days prior to contract signing with
adequate bandwidth growth for 2012.
Scenario 1 process:
A. Use the old “establishing” 2012 form 470 number on line
12, block 5.
B. Use the funding request number from last year’s 471 on
line 15d.
C. Use the date the original contract was signed on line 18.
Use the old
establishing
470 number
This will be pre-populated
when you complete line 12
This number
may be found
on last year’s
form 471 or on
your FCDL
Use date
contract
was
signed
Use date
contract
expires
How to handle contracts
Scenario 2: Contract was signed in August 2012
that is multi-year, going through June 30,
2014. No form 470 was filed prior to signing
the contract.
How to handle contracts
Scenario 2 process:
1. List and describe the service on a new form 470.
2. Wait 28 days. Consider all bids.
3. If accepting the existing contract as the winning bid,
send yourself an e-mail memorializing the existing
contract. (Make sure you go through the bid
evaluation process first!)
4. Use the date of the e-mail in #3 above as the date
the contract award date.
use this year’s 470
number
Do not fill in box
15d
17 will be prepopulated when you
complete line 12
Use date of your
memorializing e-mail
to yourself
Use actual
contract
expiration
date
Form 471 common errors
D. Too little bandwidth/speed for Internet is requested
on form 471
FIXES:
1. Be sure you didn’t limit your “quantity/capacity” on
form 470 (e.g. “No less than 3 mbps” or
“approximately 3 mbps” or “WAN service to all
district buildings”)
2. Request enough bandwidth and dollars on form
471 to get you through 2013-14 school year
Form 471 common errors
E. Form 471 is filed after the window closes
FIX: Because you must wait 28 days after filing
form 470 to file your form 471, be sure to get
the form 470 completed soon! (absolute last
day to file form 470 is February 14).
Form 471 common errors
F. Documentation of competitive bidding
process is not retained
Fix: Keep the following for at least five years:
•
Completed bid evaluation matrix for each
service
•
Bids (not just winning bid)
•
E-mail to yourself accepting the winning
bid (make sure it is at least 28 days after
form 470 posting date)
From 471 common errors
G. Item 25d has a zero ($0)
Fix: Do not put $0
Item 25d?
Fix:
• Do NOT put zero in the box.
• Add up the total for items such as
Hardware and Software (districts: See most
recent Certified Annual Financial Report or
current local budget documents for these
figures)
Tech support staff salaries and benefits
Form 471 common errors
H. Item 25f is checked
Fix: Do not check 25f
Form 471 common errors
I. Internal connections and basic maintenance
(priority 2) funding requests are on the same
form 471 application as telecommunications
services and Internet (priority 1)
Internal connections requests?
Fix:
• If you are requesting internal connections or
basic maintenance of internal connections
(priority 2), put each request on a separate
form 471. If you put priority 2 with priority 1,
your application will be delayed for review and
funding
What can I do in advance to
prepare for form 471?
Get ready for form 471
• Your district/library entity number
• The entity number of each building in your
district, including buildings with no students
(e.g. bus barn)
• The enrollment and free/reduced eligibility
numbers for each attendance center
Get ready for form 471
• Each service provider’s name and SPIN
number
• Amount of monthly service (or annual
service, if that’s how you pay for the
service)
Get ready for form 471
• Make a chart
– Chart template at
http://www.iptv.org/iowa_database/erate
• Form 471: Preparing for Block 5
Get ready for form 471
You will need a description of services ( for
online Item 21 attachment), especially
bandwidth (e.g. 15 MBPS) and type of
connection (e.g. Ethernet).
Description of service MUST include eligible
funding items!
Form 471: How many forms
should I file?
– Important: if you are filing for internal
connections or basic maintenance of
internal connection, file a separate 471 for
these services. Do NOT put priority 2 items
on the same form 471 as priority 1 items.
– For priority 1 only, you may file more than
one Form 471, or you may file a single Form
471.
Questions?
We are ready to go through online filing. What
questions do you have before we go through a
practice 471 filing?
Let’s file form 471!
• www.sl.universalservice.org (online form 471)
• Use Internet Explorer 6.0 and above. Other browsers may
cause errors.
• Do not use the 'Back' and 'Forward' buttons on your browser
or the 'Enter' key to move through the forms.
• Clear your Internet cache and your temporary Internet files
before you begin. If you will be submitting multiple forms,
clear your Internet cache after each form.
• Turn off your pop-up blocker or set your browser to allow
pop-ups in order to receive valuable warnings and error
messages.
Sample 471
• For training purposes, I will show a makebelieve school district named “Applicant.”
• “Applicant” has three schools plus a separate
administration building.
• Two of the schools plus the administration
building are served by Windstream as a local
phone company. The other school is in a
separate town with a different phone
provider.
Sample 471 (cont.)
The district also has the following:
• Internet provided to all sites by Iowa
Communications Network on a newly signed 3-year
contract
• Cellular service, including data plan, provided to all
sites on an “old” 3-year contract with Verizon
Wireless (signed two years ago)
Practice site:
http://sldtraining.usac.org/menu.asp
Very important
Item 21 attachments are due no later than
March 14
Your 471 form will NOT be reviewed until
Item 21 attachments are received by SLD.
What if I make an error on form 471?
• Some errors can be corrected once receipt
acknowledgment letter arrives .
• See sample letter at
http://www.universalservice.org/_res/docum
ents/sl/pdf/sampleletters/471RAL.pdf
Questions and Answers
• Question:
– How long must we retain E-rate
records/documents?
• Answer:
– Must retain records for five years from the last
date you receive E-rate services
For assistance:
• SLD Client Service Bureau:
– 1-888-203-8100
• Pamela Jacobs:
– 1-515-975-0071
– pam.jacobs@iowa.gov
• Jay Peterson
– 1-515-281-4499
– Jay.peterson@lib.state.ia.us
Online filing
http://www.sl.universalservice.org
Questions?