• Form 470 Issues: Vendor Assistance and Tech Plans
• Reminder: Form 471 Applications Due in less than Two Months
• Service Provider Annual Certifications
• Supreme Court to Review CIPA
• Upcoming E-rate Deadlines

Late Friday, the SLD posted a series of important Form 470 and Form 471 reminders for FY 2003 applicants. The Form 470 reminders deal primarily with the required competitive bidding process. They define what the SLD means by "fair and open" competition and the selection of the "most cost-effective bid".

Two other issues are worth stressing.

Vendor Assistance in Form 470 Preparation:

For several years, following a major problem with one vendor, the SLD and FCC have consistently ruled that a vendor, who will be bidding for an applicant's services, cannot be listed as a contact on a Form 470. To require other vendors to submit bids or inquiries through a competitor is quite rightly considered a serious violation of the program's competitive bidding rules.

If a vendor simply helps an applicant prepare a Form 470, the issue is more complex. Last April, the SLD revised the Form 470 specifically to add the following statement: "Service provider involvement with preparation or certification of a Form 470 can taint the competitive bidding process and result in the denial of funding requests."

As written, this is a warning, not a prohibition. For additional information, applicants and vendors are referred to "Service Provider Role in Assisting Customers". This document is in the Service Providers section of the SLD Web site, but is equally applicable to applicants.

The essence of the SLD's position is that any involvement by a vendor in the pre-selection E-rate process must be such as to provide only neutral advice and to foster competition. Specifically, the instructions read that "the applicant should not have a relationship with the Service Provider prior to the competitive bidding that would unfairly influence the outcome of a competition nor would furnish the Service Provider with 'inside' information or allow them to unfairly compete in any way."

Technology Plan and Form 470 Timing:

A number of applicants appear to be operating under the mistaken impression that an approved technology plan is not needed until they are funded for a particular year and they file their Form 486s. While it is true that the Form 486 is the first form to require the certification that a technology plan is actually approved, the SLD's rules state that a technology plan must be approved from the time discounted services are received (normally July 1 of the funding year).

Since both a Form 470 and a Form 471 must be filed before each funding year starts, the certifications on these forms do require approved status. Instead, there is an option to check a box stating "technology plan(s) will be approved by a state or other authorized body." The instructions for these forms, however, are a bit more precise. They indicate that the "will be approved" box can be checked "if you are currently seeking approval of your technology plan(s)." This strongly implies that there is a plan, but that it has not yet been approved. The rationale for this instruction is the belief that services requested on a Form 470 should be based on a pre-existing technology plan, however unofficial.

Reminder: Form 471 Applications Due in less than Two Months

We would also remind applicants that they have less than two months to complete their work before the filing window closes on January 16, 2003. Since the remaining period includes the busy holiday season, as much planning and work as possible should be done within the next month. The following questions must be addressed:

We strongly suggest that you do not wait until the new year to begin work on for your Form 471 application.

Service Provider Annual Certifications

Service providers are reminded that they must file an annual certification (Form 473) with the SLD each year. Although there is no specific deadline for the annual filing, a good way to remember to file is to do so each year during the applicant's Form 471 filing window. Vendors can now file a Form 473 for FY 2003.

To check if a Form 473 was filed for any earlier funding year, check the Service Providers section of the SLD Web site under "Download SP Information by SPIN." The resulting display will show either the certification date or a "Not Received" message.

Supreme Court to Review CIPA

Last spring, a federal panel ruled that the filtering requirement - as it applied to libraries, not schools - under the Children's Internet Protection ACT ("CIPA") was unconstitutional. On November 12th, the Supreme Court agreed to review this decision. Arguments before the Court are expected this winter or next spring. For additional information on this topic, see ALA.

Upcoming E-rate Deadlines

While most applicants are focusing on the January 16th deadline, the last day of the Form 471 application window for FY 2003, there are actually several other earlier deadlines that apply to FY 2001 and FY 2002 filings.

The first is the extended deadline for filing invoices (BEAR reimbursement or supplier invoices) for recurring services received in FY 2001. Initially this deadline had been October 28, 2002, i.e., 120 days after June 30, 2002, the last day to receive recurring services in that funding year. Two weeks ago, the SLD extended this deadline to December 8, 2002. Since December 8th is a Sunday, however, the SLD has clarified that invoices postmarked by Monday, December 9, will be considered to have been filed within the deadline.

Invoices postmarked after this deadline will not be processed and funding will be lost. Remember that BEAR forms must be acknowledged by suppliers before they can be submitted.

The other upcoming deadlines are for FY 2002 Form 486s which must be filed within 120 days of the start of service (normally July 1, 2002) or the date of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter ("FCDL"), whichever is later. Most applicants funded in Waves 1-6, with FCDL dates on or before July 1, were subject to the well publicized Form 486 deadline of October 29, 2002. Applicants funded in subsequent waves, have later Form 486 deadlines. Here are the next few:

The penalty for missing a Form 486 deadline is a reduction in funding. If, for example, an applicant funded in Wave 6 did not file the associated Form 486 until November 29th, the SLD will adjust the start date to 120 days prior to the postmark date (i.e., to August 1, 2002) and reduce the funding accordingly (i.e., to 11/12ths of the originally approved amount).