The following is a summary of this week's E-rate News, prepared by E-rate Central. Official SLD news appears in the "What’s New!" section of the SLD’s Web site. Additional and archived information appears in the Archive Section on this Web site.

• PY3: No funding wave this week
• PY2: File BEARs by 11/20; file Form 500s to release excess funds
• Responses to vendor inquires re. posted Form 470s

PY3: No Funding Wave This Week

No new funding wave will be released this week. Cumulatively, through Wave Twenty-seven, the SLD has awarded funding on over 26,100 applications totaling $2.079 billion in discounts. This includes $259 million for NYS applicants, roughly one-eighth of the national total.

PY2: File BEARs by 11/20; File Form 500s to Release Excess Funds

Schools and libraries seeking discount reimbursements for services paid in full during PY2 should file their BEAR forms (Form 472s) by the SLD's November 20 deadline. (The SLD will actually accept PY2 BEARs after this "deadline," but will not guarantee that the forms will be processed before some internal and undisclosed payment cutoff date.) Applicants should remember that Form 486s must be filed before the associated BEARs can be processed.

Once a final PY2 BEAR has been filed for a specific funding request ("FRN"), an applicant should be able to calculate if there are additional dollars for that FRN that will no longer be needed. If there are, the applicant is strongly encouraged to file a Form 500 to reduce the funding commitment down to a level sufficient to cover the BEAR (or BEARs, if multiple BEARs have been filed for that FRN). This action will release funds that may be used to fund other applicants who are currently awaiting funding for out-of-the-window PY2 applications.

Responses to Vendor Inquires re. Posted Form 470s

A number of applicants have recently raised questions concerning their obligations and responsibilities for responding to sales inquiries from vendors generated as a result of posted Form 470s.

Some vendors simply use the posted Form 470s to expand their prospect lists to which they send general sales material. An applicant receiving general vendor information may learn something by reading it, but is under no obligation to proactively respond.

However, if a vendor responds specifically to a posted request for service, either to ask for more details about service needs or to propose a specific product or service, then the applicant should respond appropriately. Two general principles are important:

1. SLD and the FCC are serious about the E-rate's competitive bidding requirements; both want to see a fair and open competitive process. The SLD has clearly stated that if it "...determined that the competitive bidding requirements had not been compiled with, the entity's funding would be in jeopardy. During the PY3 application cycle, the SLD invalidated over 150 Form 470s and the associated Form 471 funding requests. (Note also that many state and local procurement laws require bidding entities to consider all properly submitted bids in response to more formal RFPs.)

2. E-rate rules do not require applicants to consider only vendors that respond to their Form 470s, nor do the rules require applicants to accept the lowest priced bid. Applicants are free to solicit their own vendors and to accept the "most cost-effective bid." Although price must be considered a major factor in the selection process, applicants can also consider prior experience, personnel qualifications (including technical excellence), management capability, and environmental objectives.

With these principles in mind, here are a few practical suggestions for responding to vendor inquiries:

1. Be polite. This is not an E-rate rule, but is an admirable social grace.
   

2. Recognize that a vendor can access posted Form 470 information either by viewing a specific applicant's Form or by downloading summary data for multiple applicants. The summary data includes little more than basic (Item 6) contact information and the requested service categories. Vendors using summary data does not know what preferred mode of contact has been specified, whether an optional contact person (Item 11) has been provided, or any details of posted service requests. In response to an inquiry made on this basis, you might suggest that the vendor review your specific Form 470.
   

3. If a vendor calls, but your Form 470 indicates that the preferred mode of contact is written (i.e., mail, fax, or e-mail), it is acceptable to simply ask the vendor to respond accordingly.
   

4. If there is someone else in your organization best equipped to deal with a specific vendor inquiry - perhaps the alternative contact listed in Item 11 - refer the vendor to the correct person.
   

5. If you have a formal (or even informal) RFP available on a requested service, make sure the vendor is given, or can procure, a copy.
   

6. Keep a file of vendor material and/or a log of vendor inquiries. Even if you don't select a specific vendor for PY4 services, the vendor's material may be useful as future needs develop. It also documents a serious effort to respond to vendor inquiries in the spirit of the Form 470 competitive bidding process.