1 / 42

E-Rate 101: Basics of the program Fall 2011

E-Rate 101: Basics of the program Fall 2011. Contact information. Schools and districts : Pam Jacobs 515-975-0071 pam.jacobs@iowa.gov Public Libraries : Jay Peterson 515-281-4499 jay.peterson@lib.state.ia.us. What is E-rate?. Discount Program for Schools and Libraries

sibyl
Download Presentation

E-Rate 101: Basics of the program Fall 2011

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. E-Rate 101: Basics of the programFall 2011

  2. Contact information Schools and districts: Pam Jacobs • 515-975-0071 • pam.jacobs@iowa.gov Public Libraries: Jay Peterson • 515-281-4499 • jay.peterson@lib.state.ia.us

  3. What is E-rate? • Discount Program for Schools and Libraries • 20-90% discounts on telecommunications services, telecommunications, Internet access, internal connections and maintenance for internal connections • Annual $2.25 billion program nationwide (plus annual inflation factor and any potential “roll-over” funds) • NOT a competitive grant program

  4. Who are the E-rate players? • Congress • FCC (Federal Communications Commission) • USAC (Universal Services Administrative Company) • SLD (Schools and Libraries Division) • PIA (Program Integrity Assurance)

  5. Who is eligible to participate and to receive funding? • Public libraries • School districts and non-public schools

  6. Library Eligibility • Non-profit, public libraries • Eligible for LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) • Can be: • single library • consortia • library system

  7. School Eligibility • All public schools • school districts • AEAs • Non-public schools • Non-profit, private K-12 schools with endowment of $50M or less • “Other school programs” as determined by Iowa Department of Education (see DE Directory) • Must meet federal definition of elementary or secondary school

  8. What is my discount? Two criteria determine your discount: • Poverty of the students • Location of the school(s) or library

  9. Poverty • Based on National School Lunch Program Eligibility • Direct Certification Data is permitted (not just the number of students participating in NSLP) • As a school/district, you are allowed to use October 1 data or “most current figure available” • Libraries use discount from school district in which they are located.

  10. Location • Urban/Rural defined by Counties

  11. Iowa counties which are urban: • Black Hawk • Dallas • Dubuque • Johnson • Linn • Polk • Pottawattamie • Scott • Warren • Woodbury

  12. Discount Matrix

  13. What is funded through e-rate? • Five categories of service • Priority 1 (funded first) • Telecommunications Services • Telecommunications • Internet Access • Priority 2 (starts with neediest applicants) • Internal Connections • Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections

  14. Eligible Services: Telecommunications Services (priority 1) Must be provided by a telecommunications carrier Examples: • Local & long distance • Cell phone service • Digital transmission services (e.g. Ethernet, Metro-e, etc.) Including all taxes and surcharges!

  15. Eligible Telecommunications Services (priority 1) cont. • Voicemail • Wireless transmission service for 2-way communications (e.g. wireless connection from your high school to the elementary) • Centrex • Android/Blackberry/i-phone data service

  16. Eligible Services: Telecommunications (priority 1): NEW CATEGORY in 2011 Leased fiber or dark fiber (i.e. fiber is then “lit” by the provider or is “lit” by the applicant) Apply for this on form 470 under 2 categories: telecommunications services and Internet

  17. Eligible Services: Internet Access (priority 1) • Internet Access Services • Web hosting service • Android/Blackberry/i-phone data service

  18. Eligible Services: Internal Connections (priority 2) • Telecommunications wiring inside buildings (e.g. CAT-5, CAT-6, fiber) • Routers • Switches • Hubs • Network servers • System operating software • Wireless LANs • Private branch exchange (PBX)

  19. Eligible Services: Maintenance of internal connections (priority 2) • Maintenance of previously purchased internal connections (does NOT include end-user equipment such as computers) • Rules changed about SMARTnet-type billing (must bill for actual hours not a service contract amount)

  20. Where can we see the eligible services list? Answer: Eligible services list for 2011 is at http://www.usac.org/_res/documents/sl/pdf/ESL_archive/EligibleServicesList_110910.pdf 2012 list is in draft form and should be finalized soon

  21. Discounts come in 2 forms: • Discounts on bills OR • Reimbursements from service provider (service provider gets reimbursed by USAC)

  22. How Discounts Work How Discounts/SPIs Work $100 You get 55% (existing) bills in discounts you would pay You apply to for discounts K The vendor ’ s bill drops by $55 Vendor Vendor invoices gets $55 USAC/USAC approves from SLD! invoice You now only owe $45 J

  23. How Reimbursements Work How Reimbursements/BEARs Work $100 You get 55% (existing) bills in discounts you would pay You apply to for discounts K You pay 100% of bill Vendor USAC approves sends paperwork/sends check to you $55! vendor You apply for reimbursement J 10/9/2007 CDE/VET/E - rate/CTF 2000 - 2001 (BEGINNER)

  24. General rules of e-rate Competitive bid posted on USAC web site for 28 days Price must be the single most important factor Your district/school/library must create a bid evaluation matrix to determine “winning” bid(s). For a sample, see http://www.usac.org/_res/documents/sl/pdf/2007_training/samples-checklist-vendor-selection-templates.pdf

  25. General rules of e-rate • Application in ‘window’ to SLD each year • If applying for both priority 1 and priority 2 services, put priority 1 and priority 2 on separate application forms (i.e. do not put priority 2 requests on the same application as priority 1) • SLD funds on rules of priority • Priority 1: Telecom services, Telecom, and Internet Access • Priority 2: Internal Connections and Maintenance

  26. “2 in 5 Rule” • Applies only to internal connections (priority 2) • An applicant can only get internal connections funding in 2 out of 5 years • Questions about this? Give me a call.

  27. What about the tech plan? • Tech plans are only needed if filing for priority 2 services. THIS IS NEW! (previously everyone had to do tech plans, even for priority 1 services). • We are now advising everyone to do a priority 2 tech plan. • For schools and districts, your tech plan will be effective for three years (2012-2014).

  28. Priority 2 (P2) funding • Should our district/school/library apply for P2 funding? • Yes! While highly unusual, the FCC granted all P2 requests for funding year 2010. • If you are a district, we urge you to file for P2 by individual building. • Does that mean we’ll be funded for P2 in 2012 and beyond? • The FCC stated that there’s no assurance of P2 funding in future years.

  29. Tip 1: Get organized by funding year Create a notebook and/or electronic file • Form 470 • Form 471 • Form 486 • BEAR (if used)

  30. Tip 2: Get frequent updates • Listserv: • AEAUSF@iptv.org • USAC offers frequent updates

  31. Tip 3: Get support! • Have a backup person in your school/district/library • Build support with your business office, supt./director and tech person • Contact your AEA or library e-rate expert

  32. Now You Know the Rules….Let’s Walk Through the Application Process

  33. Application Process at a Glance: • Form 470: May file any time but usually is filed no later than end of November • Wait 28 days! Must wait that long! • Form 471: “window” will likely open in January likely close in March (dates not yet set) • Wait for questions from PIA • Funding commitment decision letter (comes in the mail) • Form 486: file to confirm services • If getting reimbursements, form 472 (BEAR)

  34. Form 471 Form 471: “window” will likely open in January and close in March

  35. Next steps • Wait for questions from PIA, e.g. • Questions about your funding request • Verification of your discount • Funding commitment decision letter • File form 486

  36. Reimbursements? • Form 472(BEAR form) • Available in online format if you have a PIN • Service provider must OK this form (they have access to the online BEAR form with their own PIN)

  37. Upcoming sessions October/November (dates TBD): Filing form 470 December/January (dates TBD): Filing form 471 Watch AEAUSF listserv for details!

  38. Resources to Remember • SLD web site: www.universalservice.org/sl/ • E-rate Central: www.e-ratecentral.com • Iowa E-rate: www.iptv.org/iowa_database/erate • SLD Client Service Bureau: 888-203-8100 • pam.jacobs@iowa.gov: 515-975-0071 • Jay.peterson@lib.state.ia.us 515-281-4499

More Related