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Year 8 (2005) Form 470 Now Available for Posting
Message Posted August 3, 2004

The 8th Year of the E-rate program has begun!

A few weeks ago I told you that there will be a new Form 470 and Form 471
released in a few months, and that the SLD preferred you wait to use the new
470 for Year 8 services. Apparently the new 470 is not going to be released
anytime soon, and therefore the SLD has posted a notice saying that you can
now use the current 470 to begin the competitive bidding process for Year 8
services.

The Form 470 is the start of the E-rate application process and is used to
competitively bid the services or products for which you would like to
receive E-rate discounts. The Form must be posted for at least a full 28
days before a service provider can be selected and a contract signed. You
may file online or on paper, although using the online method is highly
encouraged because the form is posted immediately when you hit submit, and
because the minimum process standards are automatically met. To file the
Form 470, go to the "Apply Online" section of the SLD website:
www.sl.universalservice.org

Although most entities file their 470s in the October - December time frame,
you may wish to get a head start and post the 470 now. The other reason to
post a current 470 instead of waiting for the new form is because there
appears to be a pattern of glitches to new forms when they are released,
causing extreme headaches for filers. Use the current form that you're used
to and that you know works (most of the time).

Keep in mind that you cannot file the Form 471 until the Year 8 Application
Window opens, which is normally in the early November time frame. I've
listed reminders for the 470 below; please read them carefully.

* I will be holding workshops for beginners, and if there are substantial
changes to the program announced in late September, I'll also hold workshops
for E-rate veterans as well.

* If you will be signing a multi-year contract, or if there is a
possibility of signing a multi-year contract, you must list either the
length of the contract or the possibility of a multi-year contract in Item
13 on 470. If you have a current multi-year contract with options to renew,
you must post a new 470 for the optional years, UNLESS your previous 470 or
RFP contained the renewal provisions.

* You must keep all winning and losing proposals for 5 years.

* You also must keep track of the evaluation process you used to select the
winning proposal. Don't forget... you may have as many criteria as you
like, but price (alone) must be the heaviest weighted factor. For example,
if you have 4 criteria that you are using to judge proposals, price must be
at least 26% of the weight, will all others being 25% or less.

* Applicants may choose to have discounted bills or to seek reimbursement
from the fund. You'll want to indicate your preference to your service
provider(s) on the 470 or your RFP and during the vendor selection process.
I also strongly encourage you to memorialize this preference in your
contract.

* Be specific on your 470. Don't forget that firewall services, web
hosting, and voice mail all are now eligible services, and should be listed
on your 470 if you would like discounts on these services. We don't expect
any major changes to the eligible services list like we saw last year.

* Don't forget that all district or library employees' cellular service is
eligible for discounts for Year 8 (as in Year 7). Contracted employees
(such as bus drivers) are not eligible.

* Instead of using the print preview feature, after you've submitted your
470, go back to the "apply online" page and choose the "search posted"
option. Then type in your 470 number and print off a complete, clean copy
of your application.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at
jtschell@comcast.net

-- Julie

Julie Tritt Schell
jtschell@comcast.net

(717) 730.7133 (voice)
(717) 730.9060 (fax)

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