Some info about the E-Rate program.
Posting of an applicant’s FCC Form 470 (Description of Services Requested and Certification Form) opens the required competitive bidding process. The FCC Form 470 must be posted on USAC’s web site for at least 28 days before an applicant can close its competitive bidding process, select a service provider for tariffed or month-to-month services, and/or select a service provider.
Reminder: Technology plans must be approved prior to the service start date reported on the Form 486.
“Participating in its 16th filing window, Funds For Learning, the nation’s largest E-rate compliance firm, has submitted over $1 billion in E-rate funding requests since the program’s inception. [It has] exceeded the $5 billion threshold.” [source]
Funding year deadlines here.
Also, eligible services lists are available. “The ESL, established by the FCC, is organized into five sections and includes a miscellaneous section:”
- Telecommunications Services,
- Telecommunications,
- Internet Access,
- Internal Connections,
- Basic Maintenance, and
- Miscellaneous.
The Rural Healthcare Program is also run by USAC. Are you getting your piece of the $440 million. “Beginning in January 2014, applicants currently receiving support for Internet access can apply for support for those same services through the new Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program. … The HCF Program will provide a 65 percent discount on eligible expenses related to broadband connectivity to both individual rural health care providers (HCPs) and consortia.”
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