273 E-rate Funding Letters Mailed to PA Entites
Message Posted November 24, 1998
SLC ISSUES FIRST WAVE OF E-RATE FUNDING COMMITMENT DECISIONS LETTERS
The following is a newsflash from the SLC announcing that the first wave of E-rate Funding Commitment Letters were mailed(!). Although we haven't yet
received the detailed list of every school and library included in the first wave, here is what we do know:
According to the SLC...
* 273 of Pennsylvania's 1807 E-rate applications were approved and had letters mailed in the first wave.
* The total amount of funding for those 273 applications was worth $4,005,884.
* A total of $64 million was requested from Pennsylvania's 1807 applications.
* Pennsylvania's E-rate applications would directly benefit 77% of its public school districts, 45% of its non-public schools, and 46% of its
libraries throughout the state. (I'm not sure if this is before funding cuts or after).
Hopefully by tomorrow we will have the first wave list and will have it posted to the PA E-rate web site. In the meantime, if you are one of the
lucky 273, remember that the next step is to complete the Form 486 to let the SLC know that your service has begun and whether or not you will be
requesting any reimbursements through a subsequent BEAR form. Don't panic if you don't have it returned to them within 5 days, particularly because
of this week's holiday. I would just aim to mail it in the next 2 weeks. Official Form 486s and BEAR forms will be enclosed with your Funding
Commitment Letter and also are available on the SLC web site.
I'll keep you posted as we learn more.
-- Julie
E-rate Newsflash
Schools and Libraries Corporation
November 23, 1998
The Schools and Libraries Corporation announced today that the first wave of funding commitment decisions letters is now on its way to E-rate
applicants across the country. Approximately 3,000 letters have been sent, committing a total of $73 million for this first wave. The wave includes
applicants from every state and the District of Columbia. Letters notifying these applicants' service providers of their funding commitments
will follow shortly.
As expected, those applicants included in the first wave represent a mix of requests for discounts on telecommunications services and Internet access
at a variety of discount levels, plus some internal connections requests at the 90% discounts level. One in four dollars in the first wave is going to
schools and libraries at the highest discount level, while one-third of the commitments are to rural applicants.
Each wave of funding commitment decisions letters is formed based on Federal Communications Commission rules of priority plus completion of all
SLC processing and decisions on specific Form 471 applications. The FCC rules designate as *priority one* all approved telecommunications services
and Internet access requests received within the 75-day window, followed by in-the-window requests for internal connections at the 90% discount level.
Funds have been set aside to meet these priorities for every application received within the 75-day window, and will remain earmarked through the
final wave. (For more information about the funding commitment process, see *20 Questions (and Answers) About the Waves* on the SLC Web Site or via fax-on-demand, 800-979-0833, document #208.)
Applicants who receive funding commitment letters in the first wave are urged to submit, within five business days, Form 486 for services that are
already in place. This five-business-day turnaround is strongly recommended, since no invoices to SLC for E-rate discounts can be paid
until the relevant Form 486 has been approved. Form 486 is enclosed with the funding commitment decisions letter, as is Form 472, the Billed Entity
Applicant Reimbursement form. Letter recipients in the first wave seeking reimbursement for services previously received may file as soon as possible
for services received through September 30, 1998, and must file a BEAR form by December 31, 1998. For more information about Forms 486 and 472, see
the Web Site and fax-on-demand service. Procedures for making necessary corrections/changes to information included in the funding commitment
decisions letter will also be available very soon via Web and fax.
The second wave of funding commitment decisions letters is expected to be released in December, followed by additional waves before the end of the
calendar year. The final waves will be issued in January.
Julie L. Tritt
Executive Policy Specialist
Office of Educational Technology
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street, 10th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126
Tel: (717) 705-4486
Fax: (717) 787-7222
www.L2L.org
| 
Back to 1998 Archives Main