FY 2025 E-rate Form 470 Available September 19

September 5, 2024

The E-rate Funding Year 2025 Form 470 will be available for use beginning September 19, 2024.  Typically, the Form 470 (competitive bidding form) for the upcoming funding year is available beginning July 1, but was delayed this year, due to the modifications needed to the Form 470 to accommodate the FCC’s recent approval of off-campus Wi-Fi Hotspots, and to add several other welcome features.  The four main updates are as follows: 

  1. Wi-Fi Hotspot Devices/Wireless Internet Services for Off-Premises Use. The FY 2025 Form 470 includes options to request bids for Wi-Fi hotspot devices and wireless mobile Internet access services for these devices.  For mobile hotspot internet service, select:

If you would ALSO like to seek bids for hotspots devices you should click this box at the bottom of the same screen:

  1. Bus Wi-Fi Network Equipment/Mobile Service for Buses.  These equipment and services were available in FY 2024, but the Form 470 was not updated in time to include specific selections for them.  The FY 2025 Form 470 now includes two additional selections for seeking bids for School Bus Wi-Fi mobile services and the equipment needed to make the services functional.

For school businternet SERVICE, select:

For school bus internet EQUIPMENT, select:

  1. Ability To Upload RFP and RFP Documents After Certification. Applicants will be able to upload an RFP (request for proposals) or RFP documents after the Form 470 is submitted EPC, even if no RFP was initially uploaded when the Form 470 was posted.  This is a much welcome improvement but it’s important to remember that adding an RFP document will usually extend your 28-day bidding deadline.
  2. Ability To Cancel Forms 470 and View Canceled Forms. EPC users with full rights to the Form 470 can cancel a certified Form 470 that has not yet been cited on a committed Form 471 Funding Request Number (FRN).  Previously, if an applicant posted a Form 470 and then wanted to start over with a new Form 470, there was no way to remove/cancel the old Form 470 which created confusion for service providers and applicants.  The new Form 470 allows unused/unwanted Form 470’s to be cancelled/removed.  The Form 471 will have a guardrail that will prevent a Form 471 from being certified if it cites a cancelled Form 470.  Applicants will be able to view cancelled Form 470’s in EPC under Records -> FCC Forms 470 by selecting “Canceled” under the Status filter.

General reminder:  A Form 470 must be posted every year if you are seeking month-to-month services, or at the beginning of any new procurement.  Generally, if a contract for recurring services is expiring June 30, 2025, you should plan to post a Form 470 this fall to competitively bid a new contract for services to begin July 1, 2025.  I will send out a list of which Category 1 services I believe must be competitively bid this fall, based on the contract expiration date you listed on your FY 2024 Form 471. 

All of these changes will be presented in more detail in the coming weeks and during fall trainings.  If you have any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jtschell@comcast.net.

— Julie

Julie Tritt Schell
Pennsylvania E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org

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