E-Rate 101: Basics of the program Fall 2011

E-Rate 101: Basics of the programFall 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 • 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

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. • 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

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 http://www.usac.org/_res/documents/sl/pdf/ESL_archive/EligibleServicesList_110910.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 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

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)

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

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 (2012-2014).

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.

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: • AEAUSF@iptv.org • 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: • 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)

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: 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

E-Rate 101: Basics of the program Fall 2011