Quick E-rate Update!
July 15, 2017
You’ve been asking so many great questions the last few weeks and I want to share the answers with everyone.
FY 2017 Form 486
This form is not yet available to be filed, but should be available in the next week or so. I’ll send a message to the listserve as soon as it goes live. Don’t forget, you can’t file the 486 until you’ve received your Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL) notice.
Phantom 471 Reminder E-mails
I’ve received multiple reports of 471 “reminder” e-mails being sent to applicants. If you get one of these, don’t worry. It means you have an unfinished (abandoned) 471 sitting in EPC that you started, but then didn’t submit. Simply go to your EPC Landing Page, and under My Tasks, click on the 471 link. Then click “Discard Form” and *poof* those reminder e-mails will go away. 
COMAD Letters
USAC is in the process of sending Commitment Adjustment Letters (COMADs) out to approximately 300 applicants nationwide, stating that E-rate rules have been violated from a previous year (some going back 16 years) and requiring the applicants to return funds to USAC. So far, I’ve only heard of one in PA. If you receive one of these letters, please e-mail me right away. I can help you determine if rules were actually broken, explain how to appeal, and (if rules were actually broken) how you can set up a payment plan to return funds.
Pre-Commitment SPIN Changes/Corrections and Service Substitutions
I’ve heard from several applicants that need to make SPIN changes or Service Substitutions to their FY 2017 funding requests. If you haven’t yet been funded for FY 2017, the best thing to do is to submit a RAL Modification request in EPC and your PIA reviewer will work with you to make those changes during the PIA review stage. If you’ve already received your FCDL, then you’ll need to wait until USAC releases those post-commitment modules for FY 2017 in EPC (which could take a few more months). So the very easiest thing to do is to work with your PIA reviewer to get them changed pre-commitment. Here’s how to submit a RAL Modification: http://e-ratepa.org/?p=19551
Category 2 Funding Commitments?
USAC tells us that C2 PIA reviews and funding commitments will begin very soon (which I take it to mean next week?). Please know I’ve been pushing them for the last 5 weeks to begin reviewing C2 applications/issuing FCDLs.
Changing 471 Contacts
If you have a new staff member handing E-rate for your school or library – one that is different than the name listed on the 471 – please submit a RAL Modification at http://e-ratepa.org/?p=19551 to make this change so the PIA reviewer knows where to send the PIA inquiry. You’ll also want to contact CSB and obtain a new EPC account for the new E-rate contact (888-203-8100) and be sure they have a record of where the PIA correspondence should be sent moving forward.
If you have any questions, please e-mail me at jtschell@comcast.net!
– 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