• PY4 Wave 5 Scheduled for Release
• Reminder: Form 486, Form 479, and CIPA Deadlines
• Late Wave 1, Wave 2, and Pink Postcard Appeals
• George McDonald to head SLD

The following is a summary of the E-rate News for the Week of September 10, 2001, 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 elsewhere on our Web site .

PY4 Wave 5 Scheduled for Release

Wave 5 of funding commitments for PY4 is scheduled to be mailed Monday, September 17^th. This will be a relatively small wave of approximately 300 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (“FCDLs”) for $73.5 million. Cumulatively, PY4 funding now stands at $1.2 billion.

Because of potential postal service disruptions, any applicants still awaiting funding commitments should be proactive. Rather than simply waiting for a FCDL to arrive, we recommend:

• Check the SLD Web site early in the week to determine if funding has been awarded in Wave 5.
• If so, do at least a rough calculation to compare the total amount awarded with the total amount requested. Any material difference, not accounted for by unfunded internal connections, suggests that a SLD decision may have to be appealed.
• If an appeal is indicated, it is critical to review the more detailed FCDL. If it does not arrive within the week, call the SLD’s Client Service Bureau (888-203-8100) to request a duplicate. Wave 5 appeals will be due by October 17^th.

The remaining funding waves for PY4 are likely to be impacted by the October 28 Form 486 deadline for CIPA certifications (see below). Under current FCC rules, applicants who are funded before October 28 have only until that date to file Form 486s. Applicants funded after October 28, will have 120 days to submit Form 486s.

To avoid timing problems, we expect the SLD to suspend PY4 funding waves as the October deadline approaches. The suspension could begin as early as October 1, when Wave 6 would be expected to be mailed, and could resume October 29^th.

Reminder: Form 486, Form 479, and CIPA Deadlines

As discussed above, applicants who have received funding commitments for PY4 must submit the associated Form 486s by October 28, 2001. Two important points should be noted:

• The Form 486 deadline is a postmark date. Since the 28^th is a Sunday, the effective deadline is Saturday, October 27^th .
• Consortium leaders submitting Form 486s for any Internet access and/or internal connection services must first collect Form 479s from all consortium members. Consortiums, that are not already collecting Form 479s, are running out of time.

The Form 486 (and Form 479) deadline is based on certifications required under the Children’s Internet Protection Act (“CIPA”). For PY4, the certifications are easy. At a minimum, applicants must certify either a) that they are receiving discounts only for telecommunications services, or b) that they are “undertaking actions” to be CIPA compliant by PY5.

The “undertaking actions” requirement is minimal, but actual CIPA compliance by PY5 (beginning July 1, 2002) may be increasingly problematic for any applicant who is not already filtering Internet access or has not already budgeted the time and dollars for implementing filtering this year.

Late Wave 1, Wave 2, and Pink Postcard Appeals

E-rate rules have historically required that any appeals of a SLD decision be submitted so as to be received by the SLD (or FCC) within 30 days (or next business day thereafter) of the postmarked date of the decision. The SLD and FCC have consistently rejected appeals received outside the 30-day window.

E-rate coordinators, returning to work in September, therefore, may be dismayed to find FCDLs for Waves 1, 2 or pink postcard denials that are already more than 30 days old – normally too late to be appealed.

This year, however, there are an increasing number of reports of problems with PY4 application processing. If problems are subsequently confirmed by the SLD, it is conceivable that the SLD or FCC may accept certain classes of late filed appeals. We recommend, therefore, that all apparently erroneous SLD decisions be appealed, even after the 30-day window.

George McDonald to head SLD

The Universal Service Administrative Company (“USAC”) has named George McDonald to head the SLD. Mr. McDonald has been serving as the acting head of the SLD since the retirement of Kate Moore on June 11, 2001, to pursue a teaching career. Mr. McDonald has held the position of Director of Operations since the establishment of the SLD in 1998. For more information, visit the SLD Web site