E-Rate Program Basics

July 22, 2020

•Program Overview

•Program Touch Points

•Eligible Services

•Applicant Budgets

•Districtwide Discounts

•Service Provider Conduct and Miscellaneous

Agenda

Program Overview

•Connect Schools and Libraries to the Internet

• Provide Internet Bandwidth

• Provide Inter-Building Connectivity

• Provide In-Building Wired and Wireless Data Infrastructure

Program Overview

•Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996

•Administered by FCC – Sets Policy

•Universal Service Administration Company (USAC)• Enforces Policy, Sets Procedures• Four Divisions:

• Low Income• High Cost (Connect Ed)• Rural Health• Schools and Libraries (SLD)

Program Overview

•Funding

• 3.9 Billion Dollars Annually• Plus Rollover

• Funding by a surcharge on your phone bill

• A discount program, not a grant

Program Overview

General Process Timeline

Applicant Pre-application Tasks

Form 471

Form 470

Form 486 Service Delivery

• Pre-Application - Technology Planning• Securing Resources, Integrating Curriculum, Deciding Procurement Strategy

• Procurement - Form 470• Conducting Fair and Open Competition

• Application - Form 471• After Contract, Decided on Specific Goods/Services to Purchase

• Service Delivery - Form 486• Delivery, Installation, Invoicing

Program Phases

Important Dates in the FY 2020 Timeline• July 1, 2019 Form 470s begin to be filed

• Late August/Early September 2019 School Opens

• Late August/Early September 2019 Draft Eligible Services List Released

• September 2019 Final Eligible Services List Released

• November, 2019 – February, 2020 Majority of Forms 470 Posted

• January 1, 2020 WAN Special Construction Costs can be Recovered

• Early 2020 Form 471 Application Window Opens

• April 1, 2020 First Allowable Date of Service – Category 2 IC

• March-April (Estimated), 2020 Last Possible Date to Post Forms 470

• April-May (Estimated), 2020 Last Possible Date to Post Forms 471

• July 1, 2020 First Allowable Date of Service – Category 1

• July 1, 2020 Category 2 MIBS & BMIC

• June 30, 2021 Last Allowable Date for Recurring Services

• September 30, 2021 Last Allowable Date for Non-Recurring Services

• October 28, 2021 Last Allowable Date to Invoice for Recurring Services

• January 28, 2022 Last Allowable Date to Invoice for Non-Recurring Services

• September 30, 2022 Last Allowable Date for Non-Recurring Services w/ Extension

• January 28, 2023 Last Allowable Date to Invoice for Non-Recurring Services w/ Extension

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Program “Touch Points”; Your Chance To Correct Mistakes

• Receipt Acknowledgment Letter (RAL)• Sent After Form 471 Application is Received

• Contains Synopsis of Funding Request(s)

• Last Chance to Increase a Funding Request

• Provides Opportunity to Review and Correct Information

• Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL)• Issued After Review is Completed

• Contains Status of Funding Request: Funded, Denied, or Funded/Modified

• Form 486• Receipt of Service Confirmation and Children’s Internet Protection Act Certification

Form

• Issued When Applicant Files the FCC Form 486

Program “Touch Points”

Eligible Products

• Category 1 – Telecom• WANS, Point to Point Connectivity

• Category 1 – Internet Access• Internet Bandwidth

• Category 2 – Internal Connections (IC)• Network Electronics, Firewalls, Cabling, Caching, WAPs

• Category 2 – Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections (BMIC)• Break/Fix, Phone Support, Software Updates

• Category 2 – Managed Internal Broadband Services (MIBS)• Full suite of management, monitoring and repair services

Categories of Service

Category 2 Services – Internal Connections

•Eligible Services• Wired and Wireless Data Components

• Network Electronics - Hubs/Switches, Routers• Data Cabling - Racks, patch panels, raceway, etc.• UPSs

• Basic Firewalls• Caching• Services

• Installation, Design and Engineering, Configuration, Testing

Category 2 Services – Internal Connections

•Not Eligible• End-User Equipment

• phones, computers, printers, cameras, whiteboards• Voice Equipment

• PBXs, Voice Gateways• Video Equipment

• MCUs, Codecs• Servers (Unless used for eligible purpose)

Applicant Budgets

Applicant Budget

• 5 Year Pre-Discount Applicant Budget

• For Schools• $150.00 Per Pupil Per 5 Years

• Minimum Budget $9,200.00

• For Libraries• Rural: $2.30 Per Square Foot Per 5 Years• Urban $5.00 Per Square Foot Per 5 Years• Minimum Budget $9,200.00

Budget Examples

• Anytown High School (AHS) has a student population of 1,000 students.

• AHS receives, pre-discount, $150,000.00 over 5 Years.

• AHS may divide this budget however they wish.• AHS may spend $150,000.00 in Year 1

• $75,000.00 in Year 1 and $75,000.00 in Year 3

• $50,000.00 in Year 1, $50,000.00 in Year 2 and $50,000.00 in Year 3

• $30,000.00 per year each year.

• Pre-Discount means before discount is applied.• In the above example, if AHS is an 80% discount district, they would receive a

maximum of $150,000.00 * 80% or $120,000.00 over the five years.

Calculating Discounts

• Old Method• Compared each individual building against the Discount Matrix

• Used a ‘weighted average’ to derive districtwide services discount

• New Method• Derives districtwide average by dividing total of all eligible students by total

students, comparing that total vs the discount matrix.

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Discount Calculation Method

The Discount Matrix

• Note: Category 2 Capped at 85%

Potential ProgramChanges

Potential Program Changes & Issues

• Proposed Changes• Renewal of Category 2 Budget

• Continuation of Eligibility of MIBS, BMIC, and Caching

• Under Consideration• Transition to Districtwide Budget

• Issues• Managing the Transition

• Timeframe, Adapting EPiC

Miscellaneous

• Maintain All Documentation• 10 Year Document Retention Requirement

• Avoid Procurement Involvement

• Avoid Technology Plan Involvement

• Applicants Must Pay Their Discounted Percentage

• Strict Gifting Rules• Sum Total of all Comped, Discounted, or Free Goods or Services is $50.00 / year,

No Single Item Worth over $20.00.

Service Provider Conduct

• Service Substitution• Used to Change Products

• SPIN Change• Used to Change Vendors

• Applicant can only change to another vendor who responded to original bid.

• Form 500• Used to Change Contract Terms

Post-Funding

Questions?