E-Rate 101: Basics of the program Fall 2011

Contact information Schools and districts: Pam Jacobs Public Libraries: Jay Peterson

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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.

Location Urban/Rural defined by Counties

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

Discount Matrix Percent of Eligible Students UrbanRural Less than 1%20%25% 1% - 19%40%50% 20% - 34%50%60% 35% - 49%60%70% 50% -74%80% 75% -100%90%

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

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!

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

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

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

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)

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)

Where can we see the eligible services list? Answer: Eligible services list for 2011 is at sl/pdf/ESL_archive/EligibleServicesLi st_ pdf sl/pdf/ESL_archive/EligibleServicesLi st_ pdf 2012 list is in draft form and should be finalized soon

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

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

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

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 /2007_training/samples-checklist-vendor- selection-templates.pdf /2007_training/samples-checklist-vendor- selection-templates.pdf

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

“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.

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 ( ).

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 –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.

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

Tip 2: Get frequent updates Listserv: –USAC offers frequent updates

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

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

Application Process at a Glance: 1.Form 470: May file any time but usually is filed no later than end of November 2.Wait 28 days! Must wait that long! 3.Form 471: “window” will likely open in January likely close in March (dates not yet set) 4.Wait for questions from PIA 5.Funding commitment decision letter (comes in the mail) 6.Form 486: file to confirm services 7.If getting reimbursements, form 472 (BEAR)

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

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

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)

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

Resources to Remember SLD web site: E-rate Central: Iowa E-rate: SLD Client Service Bureau: