• Form 470 deadline passed
• Form 471 deadline April 6
• Procedure for dealing with a missing Form 471 application
• Update on expected FCC rulings
• SLD posts appeal procedures
• Tip of the Week: Matching SPINs and vendors

The following is a summary of E-Rate news for the week of March 8, 1999. Official SLD news appears in the "What's New!" section of the SLD’s web site.

• The effective deadline for submitting a Form 470 has passed. It is no longer possible to file a Form 470, observe the required 28 day posting period, and file a Form 471 before the end of the application window (see below).

The SLD reported that 36,451 Form 470s were filed on time within this year's window. This is approximately 200 more Form 470s than were received last year. The filing level suggests that the demand for E-Rate funds for the coming year will be on par with last year's requests. Unless there is a significant drop in requests for internal connection discounts, or unless the FCC substantially increases the rate of program funding, available funds are likely to be allocated on a similar priority basis (i.e., only the higher discount applicants will see approvals on internal connections).

Applicants who filed Form 470s online, and then mailed in the signed certification pages, should periodically review their forms on the SLD web site to assure that the certifications were received and posted. When this occurs, a "Certification Received Date" will be indicated near the top of the Form. Certifications must be received before the end of the application window.

To facilitate online searches of Form 470s, the SLD has enhanced the search function. A brief discussion of the improvements can be found on the SLD web site.

Due to a SLD backlog in Form 470 data entry, many certifications have yet to be posted. This situation should be corrected over the next week or two. Applicants, who mailed certifications and can document their receipt, should not worry and should not mail a duplicate certification.

• The end of this year's application window is 11:59 p.m. EST on April 6, 1999. To qualify for E-Rate funds for the 1999-2000 funding year, completed Form 471s must be received by the SLD by this time.

Last minute applicants, planning to file Form 471s online, should recognize that all supporting paperwork, signed certifications and attachments required by Item (14) and Item (17), must be physically delivered to the SLD by the deadline.

• Every applicant who filed a Form 471 during last year's application window should have received their FCD letters by now (with funding or denial indications). Applicants who missed the filing deadline by a few days should have been notified that they will not be funded; applicants who filed much later will be notified shortly.

Applicants who should have been notified by now, but who have received nothing, should call the SLD hotline (888-203-8100) and ask to be transferred to a person assigned to track missing Form 471s. It will be helpful to have in hand your file copy of the missing Form 471, and all related documentation (including any postal or express mail delivery receipts). A brief discussion of the missing Form 471 process can be found on the SLD web site.

• The FCC has not yet ruled on the proposed grace period for utilizing approved discounts on one-time charges or on extended funding for telecommunications and Internet access contracts that expired before 12/31/98 (see last week's E-Rate Central news). A decision on these matters is expected to be announced after the next meeting of FCC Commissioners scheduled for Thursday, March 18.

• The SLD has also posted information concerning SLD funding decision appeals, a process discussed in last week's E-Rate Central news.

• Tip of the Week: Matching SPINs and vendors.

Applicants reviewing their FCD letters, or completing new Form 471s, often find it necessary to check the vendor name associated with a SPIN number, or to find the SPIN number of a specific vendor (or to find where to fax or send a BEAR form for vendor acknowledgement). There are several web-based resources available to help.

a. E-Rate Central maintains growing lists of SPINS and BEAR acknowledgement contacts for some of the larger vendors operating in New York State..

b. To find the vendor name associated with a specific SPIN, try the SLD's web site (see Spin Contact Search).

c. To find an E-Rate coordinator for a specific vendor, either to check a SPIN or to handle a BEAR acknowledgment, try using the SLD's vendor search function (see Vendor Search). (a wildcard feature, using "%", is provided if the full vendor name is not known). Search results usually include vendor contacts, addresses, and telephone numbers.