• PY2 funding update
• New forms for PY3 are now available
• PY3 application window scheduled to close January 19
• NYS E-rate workshop update

The following is a summary of the E-rate news for the week of October 25, 1999, prepared by E-Rate Central. Official SLD news appears in the "What’s New!" section of the SLD’s web site . Additional information and interpretations appear elsewhere at this web site.

PY2 funding update

Wave 17 of Funding Commitment Decisions ("FCD") Letters for program year two ("PY2") were scheduled to be mailed last Friday. Advance information on the size of this wave was not available in time for this version of the Weekly News. At least 2-3 more funding waves are expected in November (perhaps with some additional funding "ripples" beyond mid-November covering complex or problematic applications).

The biggest news from the SLD was that all valid requests for discounts on internal connections will be funded in PY2 (including those requests by applicants with discount rates as low as 20%). Applicants who have already received funding commitment letters indicating that internal connection requests were not yet funded should receive revised letters showing additional funding.

New forms for PY3 are now available

The new Form 470s, Form 471s, instructions, and the online 470 filing capability, were made available on the SLD web site last Monday. The 470/471 forms can be downloaded in either Excel or PDF format.

Applicants filing a Form 470 online should remember that the signature page must be printed prior to final form submission, signed, and mailed to the SLD at the address provided. Failure to submit a properly signed signature page will invalidate the Form 470 and any associated Form 471.

Online filing tip: Items (8) - (10) require applicants to check "YES" if they have a RFP available or "NO" if they don’t. If "NO" is checked, a list of needed services must be provided. The SLD’s system will not accept both a "YES" and a "NO" in a single category. This is problematic if, for example, an applicant wants to post a number of internal connection services, some, but not all of which, are covered by RFPs. The SLD help line (888-302-8100) suggested dealing with this problem by filing two Form 470s, one showing a RFP and one not. Applicants choosing this approach must be careful, when filing a subsequent Form 471, to reference the appropriate Form 470 for each funding request.

An alternative approach, requiring only one Form 470, is to check "NO" to the RFP question and include all services (whether covered by an RFP or not) in the requirements list. Under this approach, it is always possible to reference an available RFP in the option text blocks in Items (13) or (15).

PY3 application window scheduled to close January 19

Shortly after posting the new forms, the SLD announced that the PY3 filing window for the Form 471 would be at least 70 days and was expected to run from November 10, 1999, through January 19, 2000. Although this year’s filing window applies only to the Form 471, the long-standing requirement that a Form 470 first be posted for 28 days is still in effect. Applicants filing an online Form 470 on Monday, October 25, for example, will not be able to file a Form 471 until November 22. The effective Form 471 window period for most applicants, therefore, is already less than 60 days (and is growing shorter daily).

E-Rate Central encourages applicants to file their Form 470s as soon as possible. The new Form 470 is somewhat easier to complete than the previous version. The new Form 471, on the other hand, requires considerably greater detail. Applicants should allow as much time as possible after the required 28-day Form 470 posting period to sign contracts and prepare Form 471s for submission. Remember that the application window includes an extensive holiday period.

NYS E-rate workshop update

Several half-day NYS E-rate workshops, sponsored by the New York State Education Department, were conducted last week in the New York City, Albany, and Buffalo areas. A second NYC workshop will be held November 1 and a new workshop is being planned in the Utica area at the end of November. A special workshop for vendors will be held in NYC on December 2. (See the listing below and the E-Rate Central web site for registration information and location maps.)

The workshops have been designed to address the needs of both new and experienced participants in the E-rate program. The presentations will address the entire application process with special emphasis on the new forms, procedures and contract requirements for the 2000-2001 program year.

School and library workshops:

New York City area - 9-12 a.m., Monday, November 1, in the NYS Public Service Commission Boardroom, 8^th Floor, One Penn Plaza, New York, NY.

Mid-State area - Monday, November 29 (tentative) at Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES, Utica, NY.

Service provider workshop:

New York City area - 9-12 a.m., Thursday, December 2, in the NYS Public Service Commission Boardroom, 8^th Floor, One Penn Plaza, New York, NY.

Schools, libraries, and vendors that cannot attend any of these sessions have several other training options. E-Rate Central will be holding a condensed workshop at the NE Regional Technology Awareness Day in Saratoga on November 30. The SLD is running a two-day training session in Indiana on November 4-5 that is expected to be broadcast live and available for later viewing over the Internet. Copies of the slides used in the E-Rate Central workshops will be made available on its web site next week.