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 January 9, 2013 service provider call include:
December 2012 Commitments
FY 2013 Form 471 Window Open
The Funding Year 2013 Form 471 filing window is now open and will continue through 11:59 EST on Thursday, March 14, 2013. The filing window will be open for 93 days. Thursday, February 14, 2013 is the last date on which a Form 470 may be filed in time to be referenced on a Funding Year 2013 request.
Invoicing Update
Payments for the month of December totaled $121.34 million against $163.7 million in requests. Invoices were submitted by 1,358 service providers, and 95% were processed within 30 days. The top invoice denial reasons for the month include:
Duplicate invoicing
Invalid SPIN
Invalid FRN
Total commitment paid
Form 486 not processed
FY 2011 Invoice Deadline Extended
Due to Hurricane Sandy, USAC is extending two important E-rate program deadlines. The FY 2011 recurring services invoicing deadline 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 FY 2012 will also be moved to January. 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.
Any applicants in the impacted federal disaster locations will be allowed extra time for other program related deadlines, such as PIA. The full announcement can be found on the Schools and Libraries Division website.
Q&A
A question arose about how to properly comply with on-premise regulations. Documentation about on-premise equipment can be found on the SLD website.
There is still confusion over the Free Services Advisory and whether or not cost allocation is required when the free product is available to the public or a class of subscribers broader than just E-rate recipients. The SLD clarified that while a decision has been made on cell phones, the matter is still be discussed at the FCC regarding other products.
The SLD responded to questions tied to the Queen of Peace Order and clarified that if an applicant posts a Form 470 and requests a particular manufacturer, they must also state they will evaluate any equivalent product or solution as well.
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.
