• PY4 Wave 11 Released
• PY5 Application Window: Two Weeks To Go
• FCC and SLD Appeal Windows Extended

The following is a summary of the E-rate News for the Week of December 24, 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 this Web site.

PY4 Wave 11 Released

Wave 11 of Funding Commitment Decision Letters (“FCDLs”) was mailed Friday, December 28, but will not be posted on the SLD Web site until next Thursday. Total funding in this wave should be approximately $100 million.

This will raise cumulative funding for PY4 to $1.83 billion, leaving an estimated 15% of available funding yet to be awarded. As of Wave 11, funding for internal connections will start being awarded to applicants down to the 88% discount level. Internal connections at the 85-87% level are still questionable.

PY5 Application Window: Two Weeks To Go

By the time the New Year’s holiday is over, there will be only about two weeks left to file a Form 471 application for PY5. The absolute deadline is 11:59 p.m., Thursday, January 17, 2002. It is highly unlikely that any application filed after this deadline will receive E-rate funding for 2002-2003.

To successfully file a Form 471 within the application window, one of the following conditions must apply:

If filed electronically – with an electronic signature – the filing must be completed online by the 11:59 p.m. deadline. Item 21 attachments must be mailed separately, but need not be postmarked by the deadline.

If filed electronically – without an electronic signature – the filing must be completed online by the 11:59 p.m. deadline and the signed certification pages must be mailed to the SLD and be postmarked no later than January 17.

If filed manually, the completed Form 471, with signature, must be mailed to the SLD and be postmarked no later than January 17.

Remember that any Block 5 funding request contained in a Form 471 must reference an earlier Form 470 posted on the SLD Web site at least 28 days before the Form

FCC and SLD Appeal Windows Extended

Responding to concerns that emergency conditions in Washington, DC, and across the country have disrupted mail deliveries and may have unfairly penalized E-rate applicants attempting to file appeals within the normal 30-day window, both the FCC and the SLD have extended the appeal window to 60 days. Both are also permitting applicants to refile any appeals if the initial 30-day deadlines were on or after September 12, 2001.

The SLD’s revised information on appeals is now available on the their Web site. Click HERE for a copy of the FCC’s extension order.

For FCC appeals, it is important to note that the extended deadline applies only to initial appeals. Petitions for reconsideration, whereby E-rate decisions of the Common Carrier Bureau (designated DA xx-xxxx) can be appealed again to the full Commission, are not covered by the extension because, in these cases, the 30-day window is stipulated by statute.

In addition to extending the appeal deadlines, the FCC and SLD also established procedures to allow electronic filings by e-mail or facsimile. If faxed, a cover sheet should be included providing a contact name, phone number, and e-mail address. The e-mail addresses and fax numbers for appeals are:

Although the extended filing deadlines and electronic submission options have been designated as “interim” measures, we expect the changes to apply indefinitely.