E-rate Funding Year 2014, Large Wave 1 Announced

~ Letters to be Mailed This Week ~

~ List of Wave 1 Funded Applicants to be Soon ~

The SLD has just announced that the first wave of funding commitment decision letters (FCDLs) for FY 2014 will be dated May 15. As expected, this wave will be very large, with more than $33 million committed to 885 Pennsylvania applicants. One of the first E-rate reforms implemented by FCC Chairman Wheeler was faster FCDL decisions, including an increased focus on applications contains broadband funding requests and consortia applications.

The actual list of schools and libraries included in Wave 1 will be sent to the listserve in the next day or two. As soon as Wave 1 awardees have been announced, it’s important that the Form 486 be filed ASAP and that applicants notify their vendors to let them know they want their bills to be discounted. The Form 486 will be available on May 15 and I will send a separate message with detailed instructions on how to submit the Form 486.
If you are not included in Wave 1, do not worry. There will be 50+ funding waves and your commitment will be forthcoming. Please see the Wave FAQs below for more information.

FAQ’s on Waves
* This wave only contains funding for priority one services — telecommunications services and Internet access. It is not yet known whether funding will be available for Priority 2 requests, but it looks doubtful.
* If you disagree with a funding commitment decision, an appeal letter MUST be received at the SLD within 60 days of the date that is on the decision letter (not the letter’s postmark date).
1. How will I be notified of my E-rate Funding Commitment?
The SLD will be sending out Funding Commitment Decision Letters to inform applicants of their E-rate discounts. These letters will be mailed in waves, rather than waiting for all applications to be fully processed before issuing any letters. Only those applicants who submitted complete requests within the “application window” will be receiving Funding Commitment Decision letters.
2. When will the first wave of letters be sent and how frequently will the waves of letters be sent?
A wave of letters will be mailed every week. As each wave is sent, the SLD will announce its size and post state-by-state information on their Web Site.
3. How will I know which wave my letter is in?
There is no definitive way to know in advance which wave a particular Funding Commitment Decision Letter might be in. The SLD will post information about each wave on their public Web Site the first business day after it has been mailed.
4. Will I receive only one Funding Commitment Decision Letter?
The SLD will issue a Funding Commitment Decision Letter for each Form 471 submitted.

– Julie

Julie Tritt Schell
PA E-rate Coordinator

717-730-7133 – o
717-730-9060 – f
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org
Penn*link