SLC To Release 5 New Documents
Message Posted February 26, 1998
The Schools and Libraries Corporation has just released the following statement concerning five new documents that will be available soon to assist schools and libraries completing Form 471. After a call to the SLC, I learned that these documents probably won't be available until late Friday, Feb. 27 or Monday, March 2. Schools and libraries already at the end of their 28-day posting period may want to delay filing their Form 471 until they review these documents. Likewise, the "PEPPM Purchases/471 Filing Guide" prepared by PDE to assist schools and libraries completing Form 471 for purchases made directly from the PEPPM bid list, was scheduled to be released today but now probably won't be distributed until we learn what new information may be contained in the SLC's documents. All documents, including those released by the SLC and the "PEPPM Purchases/471 Filing Guide" will be distributed by PDE through Penn*LINK, the E-rate listserve, and will be posted on the PDE E-rate web site.
-- Julie
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FIVE NEW DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE SOON TO FACILITATE COMPLETION OF FORM 471
"The Schools and Libraries Corp. (SLC) announced today that it will soon release a new package of informational materials designed specifically to help schools and libraries complete Form 471, the second step in the Universal Service Fund (*E-rate*) application process.
These materials will include:
* Options for Submitting FCC Form 471. This document describes several ways schools and libraries can fill out Form 471, which must be filed manually as indicated in the application instructions.
* Procedures for Processing SLC Applications. This document provides a concise overview of the entire Universal Service Fund application process and describes what happens to applications once they are received by SLC, including how application problems will be addressed.
* SLC Minimum Processing Standards for FCC Forms 470 and 471. This one-page document describes the circumstances under which applications will be automatically rejected, and how to avoid them.
* SLC Eligible Services: Role of the *Services Ordered Number.* This document explains the purpose of the identification number that SLC will assign to each separate line of Items 15 and 16 of Form 471, which will be considered on a line-item basis. These Services Ordered Numbers will be itemized in SLC*s communications to applicants about approval or rejection of their funding requests.
* SPIN Assignment Fact Sheet. This document explains how participating vendors can obtain their required Service Provider Identification Number (*SPIN*).
These materials will be distributed electronically and on paper in the coming days through numerous channels, including the SLC Client Service Bureau (888-203-8100) and the SLC web site, <http://www.slcfund.org>.
Form 471 is the application through which schools and libraries indicate their Universal Service Fund discount percentage, what eligible services and equipment they are requesting discounts on, and which service providers they have contracted with for these services. Form 471 can be submitted no earlier than the 29th day after a school or library submits its first-step application, the Form 470, which is posted for 28 days to invite competitive bidding (or held for 28 days if it is for an pre-existing contract). February 27, 1998, marks the date when SLC will begin to receive Form 471s from schools and libraries who have met the 28-day requirement.
Unlike Form 470, which can be filed online or on paper, Form 471 is a manual application. Schools and libraries can submit Form 471 via regular U.S. Postal Service delivery to: Schools and Libraries Corporation, P.O. Box 4217, Iowa City, IA 52244-4217. For express delivery or U.S. Postal Service Return Receipt, the address is: Schools and Libraries Corporation, c/o Sherri Chalupa, 2510 N. Dodge Street, Iowa City, IA 52245.
All applicants who correctly complete both Form 470 and 471 within the 75-day window that began January 30, 1998, will be treated as if they had applied on the same day. After the 75-day window closes, on April 14, applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Form 471-related materials are the latest in a series of worksheets, fact sheets, and FAQs developed by the SLC to help with the Universal Service Fund application process. Many of these are currently available at <http://www. neca.org>. Two additional new documents * a fact sheet on Wide Area Networks and a third set of Clients* Commonly Asked Questions * are expected to be posted soon at <http://www. neca.org>.
To date, SLC has received more than 19,000 Form 470 applications from schools and libraries across the country."
---SLC
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