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Erin Rock, Secretary

E-RATE 101An Introduction to the Schools and Libraries Program

I. Program Overview and History

II. Eligibility

III. Introduction to Web Portals

IV. Discounts

V. Categories of Service & Budgets

VI. Process

VII.Reimbursement

TOPICS OF DISCUSSION

VOCABULARY• FCC: Federal Communications Commission.

Independent agency that oversees E-rate.Rule Makers.

• USAC: Universal Service Administrative Company.Not-For-Profit Company that administers E-rate.Processes Applications.

• USF: Universal Service Fund.Pool of funds that finance FCC Telecommunication Service Programs.Fueled by service provider/consumer fees & tariffs.

USAC reports to the FCC

Craig Davis is the VP of the Schools and

Libraries Program

Telecommunications Act of 1996

❖ On February 8, 1996 the Telecommunications Act is signed by Bill Clinton

❖ Title II, Section 254 of the Act directs the FCC to provide schools and libraries with discounted telecommunications services

❖ The FCC designates USAC to manage distribution of E-rate funds

❖ The program begins on January 1998

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

THE PROGRAM $$$

Currently, there is $3.99 billion of support in the entire program

$1 Billion is set aside for internal connections (Cat 2)

The money comes from the Universal Service Fund, which is funded by a tax applied to

telecommunication service providers & consumers

VOCABULARY

• School: Entity as defined by “No Child Left Behind Act” of 2001

Elementary Schools, Secondary Schools

• Library: Entity as defined by “Library Services and Technology Act”.

Public, Elementary/Secondary School, Academic, Research

• Consortia: Group of Entities that apply together

• NIF: Non-Instructional FacilitiesIE. Administrative Buildings

It is possible to have a

consortia of consortiums

We use the Master School Identification Database to

identify schools

WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Elementary and Secondary Schools ✓ nonprofit institutional day or residential school✓ public elementary charter school✓ provides elementary/secondary education✓ Does not include Education beyond grade 12

✓Determined under state law.

Libraries✓ Completely Separate budget from schools✓ Public or a Private Library deemed eligible by the state✓ Must be eligible for assistance from a State Library

Administrative Agency

WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Non-Traditional Elementary and Secondary✓ Head Starts✓ Adult Education✓ Juvenile Justice✓ ECT.

Educational Service Agencies✓ ESU✓ BOCES✓ ECT

School Residential Facilities✓ Tribal Land Schools✓ Schools serving Children with Medical needs✓ ECT.

VOCABULARY

• EPC: E-rate Productivity CenterUSAC’s online portal where applications, requests, and applicant information is submitted.

• Invoicing Portal: Separate onlineUSAC portal used to request reimbursement.

Requests for reimbursement are submitted

to a legacy system

Vocabulary

• NSLP: National School Lunch ProgramProvides free or reduced lunches to students. Used to determine economic need.

• CEP: Community Eligibility ProvisionAlternate method of determining economic need using NSLP data and a national multiplier.

• EPC Profile: This is where your discount percentage is calculated. Individual schools and facilities are listed under “My Entities”

We maintain the valid file: a pre-validated list of

NSLP Data

School districts share NSLP ratings

Total Enrolled

Total Free Lunches

Total Free Lunches

NSLP Percentage

Students 100 20 30 30%

How Discounts Work

NSLP:• Actual Eligible Student Counts• Federally Approved Alternative

Mechanism

CEP:• % of Directly Certified Students

multiplied by 1.6• CEP Numbers can be used for 4 years• The CEP Multiplier changes on

occasion

NSLP eligibility is determined by family income

If your CEP numbers rise or fall during the 4 year cycle, you

can use the higher numbers.

How Discounts Work

District NSLP:• Library discount is determined by

the percentage of students eligible for NSLP in the designated district.

• The designated district is determined by the location of the main library outlet.

In the past, libraries used an

average of all districts where

they have outlets.

How Discounts Work

Vocabulary

Category One: Services that support broadband services connectivity

Category Two: Services that transmit connectivity within an entity

Category 2 services have a

maximum discount of

85%

After FY 2018-19, voice

services will be completely phased out

Category One

• Fiber (Lit and Dark)

• OC-1, OC-3, OC-12, OC-n

• Wireless Service (e.g. microwave)

• Satellite Services

• DS-1, DS-2, DS-3

• Ethernet

• T-1, T-3, Fractional T-1

• Self-Provisioned Network

• Frame Relay

• SMDS

• Cable Modem

• DSL

• ATM

• Telephone Dialup

• Broadband over Power Lines

• ISDN

• MPLS

CategoryTwo:

Internal Connections

• Access points

• Cabling

• Caching

• Firewalls

• Switches

• Routers

• Racks

• UPS

• Wireless LAN Controllers

• Support Software

• Improvements, upgrades and

software necessary to support

eligible broadband internal

connections components

• Functionalities listed here that can

be virtualized in the cloud, and

equipment that combines eligible

functionalities are also eligible.

CategoryTwo

Managed Internal Broadband Services

(MIBS)

e.g. Managed Wi-Fi

Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections

(BMIC)

Services provided by a third party for the

operation, management, and/or

monitoring

of eligible broadband internal connections

components.

Basic maintenance of internal connections

ensures the necessary and continued

operation of eligible internal connection

components at eligible locations.

School C2 Budgets

▪ $153.47 per student over 5 years

▪ Pre-discount funding floor of $9,412.80 per school over 5

years

▪ C2 funds are pre-discount. (an 80% school essential

receives $120 per student)

▪ No budget for Non-instructional facilities (NIFs) –

including school NIFs with classrooms and

administrative buildings.

Doesn’t look like a school…

TYPE OF CONNECTION

Is this connection eligible for Category One (WAN) or Category Two (LAN) funding?

Definition of campus:

A "campus" is defined as the geographically contiguous grounds where the instructional buildings of a single eligible school or the non-administrative buildings of a single eligible library are

located.

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Definition of annex:

If a school has more than one location separated by a public right-of-way, but all of those locations together are considered one school by the state, those additional locations are annexes of that school.

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Different schools on the same campus. Cat 1 or Cat 2?

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Different schools on the same campus. Cat 1 or Cat 2?

Category One

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Single school with three NIFs across a right away? Cat 1 or Cat 2?

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Single school with three NIFs across a right away? Cat 1 or Cat 2?

Category Two

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Different schools on the same campus but with a right away separating one of the schools? Cat 1 or Cat 2?

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Different schools on the same campus but with a right away separating one of the schools? Cat 1 or Cat 2?

Category One

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Same school but NIF is located three miles off campus? Cat 1 or Cat 2?

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Same school but NIF is located three miles off campus? Cat 1 or Cat 2?

Category One

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Single school with three separate NIFs? Cat 1 or Cat 2?

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TYPE OF CONNECTION


Scenario:

Single school with three separate NIFs? Cat 1 or Cat 2?

Category Two

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Library C2 Budgets

▪ $2.35 per square foot.

▪ $5.12 per square foot for large urban populations of 250,000+.

▪ Pre-discount funding floor of $9,412.80 per

school over 5 years

▪ Book Mobile C2 budget is also determined by square footage, and is typically eligible for the $9,200 minimum.

Vocabulary

• FCC Form 470: Competitive Bidding FormFormal request for vendor response

• FCC Form 471: Application FormFormal funding request for services outlined in 470

• FCDL: Funding Commitment Decision LetterNotification sent to applicant detailing amount approved

The 470 process

includes an RFP if applicable

FCDLs are delivered on EPC and via

postage

Prepare Documents

Access Needs

File 470

28 Day Bid Period

Choose Vendor

File 471

Respond to compliance questions

FCDL

Service Delivery

Reimburse-ment

Organize

ReviewInvoice

ApplyBid

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

DecJan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

FCC Form 470

(Competitive bidding)PIA Review

FCC Form 471

(Application)

July 2017 – June 2018

Invoicing

The E-rate Year

Vocabulary

• FCC Form 472 (BEAR): Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement Invoicing method. • Filed by applicant after services are paid in

full

• FCC Form 474 (SPI): Service Provider Invoice • filed by service provider after applicant is

billed for non-discounted portion of service

• FCC Form 498: Process for submitting bank information for deposit of reimbursement funds.

472 & 474 are submitted on

the legacy system

472’s are typically filed

annually, but can technically be

filed after paying the invoice

Then you request!

Cash Reimbursement

BEAR in mind,

you have 120 days after last day of

service to invoice…

otherwise you suffer the

GRIZZLYconsequence.

First, Service Provider delivers discounted invoice

Then, Service Provider invoices USAC

Invoice Credit

Can you receive a credit before an

FCDL?

Credits can be delayed for

months! This message will self

destruct in 5…