USAC’s Schools and Libraries Division hosts monthly service provider conference calls, providing information and guidance for vendors participating in the E-rate program. Highlights from November 14th service provider call include:
October 2012 Commitments
Since the last call, USAC has approved the following funding commitments:
Invoicing Update
Payments for the month of October totaled $279 million, against $355.9 million in requests. Invoices were submitted by 2,087 service providers, and 97% were processed within 30 days. The top invoice denial reasons include:
SPINS were not registered
commitments already paid
no Form 486 was processed
billed date outside of the funding year
service provider submitted duplicate invoices.
Hurricane Sandy
Due to Hurricane Sandy, USAC is extending two important E-rate program deadlines. The invoicing deadline for recurring services for FY2011 was Oct. 29th. For all applicants, regardless of their location, the deadline will now be Jan. 28, 2013. The SLD will make this change automatically, and no further action or request will be required. The new invoice deadline for recurring services will now be the same as the typical deadline for non-recurring services.
In addition to the invoice deadline extension, the FCC Form 486 deadline for FY12 will also be moved to Jan. 28, 2013 for all E-rate program participants. Applicants who may have missed either of these deadlines will now have additional time to prepare the necessary forms and submit them to USAC for processing.
Questions
Where can I find information on which sites applied for priority two funding in the past?
SLD Answer: The 2-in-5 rule applies to commitments received in the Internal Connections category, and is individually calculated for each site within a school district. Applicants can receive commitments for Basic Maintenance services each year. The SLD has a 2-in-5 tool that provides data on the specific entities, however, the tool is currently experiencing issues. The SLD hopes to have the glitch fixed soon.
Questions regarding Lowest Corresponding Price (LCP)
SLD Answer: The LCP guidance on the SLD website is all the information that is currently available. Further questions should be directed to the FCC.
Where should reimbursement checks be mailed at school district?
SLD Answer: The service provider and the applicant should work together to determine where the vendor should send the BEAR reimbursement check. The service provider has 20 business days to send the check to their customer.
Note: The information above is not the official minutes from the call, but simply notes from Funds For Learning. The official minutes for this call, as well as call minutes from previous months, can be found here.
