E-rate Assistance this Weekend and Next Week

March 20, 2025

~ So far, 1271 FRNs filed by 632 PA applicants ~

I know many of you are working hard on your Form 471s to get them filed by the Wednesday, March 26 deadline. Several last-minute, important notes:

  1. If you cannot make the March 26 deadline, you may file a late (“out of window”) Form 471 and seek a waiver from the FCC. As long as the Form 471 is filed on or before April 9, 2025, the FCC is likely to approve your waiver request and instruct USAC to treat your application as timely filed. You MUST have the Form 471 filed by April 9 and then you can submit the waiver request after that. I will be sending a waiver letter template and FCC waiver filing instructions after the Form 471 deadline.
  2. Be sure to review the Top 34 C1/C2/General Form 471 Filing Tips if you have questions.  The answers can usually be found there!
  3. If you need help with Bid Evaluations, Contract Records, Submitting Form 471s, Modifying or Cancelling Form 471s, be sure to refer to the helpful guides at: https://e-ratepa.org/?p=35906.
  4. Starting Saturday, USAC’s Customer Support Center (CSC) will be open the following days/extended hours to assist applicants with last-minute questions: 
  • Saturday, March 22 – 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Sunday, March 23 – 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Monday, March 24 – 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Tuesday, March 25 – 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Wednesday, March 26 – 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.

To reach CSC, call 888-203-8100. Note: Call volumes are significantly higher during the last few days of the filing window, so you will generally reach an agent more quickly if you call this weekend or weekdays before 11:00 a.m.

  1. If your service provider has applied for but does not yet have a SPIN number, you can enter the Interim SPIN 143666666 on your Contract Record or Form 471 as a placeholder so you can timely file your application before the March 26 deadline.  After the SPIN has been received, you can then update the application with the actual SPIN using the RAL Modification Process or during the PIA review of your application.
  2. Can I Increase Category 2 Quantities – Because FY 2025 is the final year of the current Category 2 Budget Cycle, schools and libraries are eager to utilize as much of their remaining C2 budget cap as possible – awesome! During the bid evaluations, many schools and libraries are finding that their bids are coming in with lower costs than they had anticipated when they developed their original equipment list, thus begging the question – “Can I increase quantities on my vendor contract and Form 471 than what was originally sought on my mini-bid or Form 470.” The answer is yes, this is permissible, but within reason. First, you should conduct your bid evaluation and select the winning vendor. Next, e-mail the winning vendor to seek a draft contract that increases quantities of X product. Then submit the Form 471 using the new contract and higher quantities/amounts. Be sure to keep your bid evaluation (always) and a paper trail of your vendor correspondence.  To view what’s remining in your C2 budget, use this tool: E-Rate-C2-Budget-Tool-FY2021-/8z69-hkn7.

  3. Additional Words of Wisdom:   
  • You must file a Form 471 every year to request funding for recurring services – even if you’re in a multi-year contract.  There’s no such thing as a multi-year E-rate funding commitment. 
  • Support SKUs (maintenance) must be filed on a separate FRN in the Basic Maintenance category (BMIC). 
  • If a SKU has no cost, or you are not requesting E-rate discounts on it, leave it off your Form 471 entirely.
  • Don’t use the Save & Share or Send for Certification Buttons on the Form 471.  It will take the application out of your EPC portal and send to all other EPC Users for your entity.  You’ll find yourself frantic wondering why your application disappeared. 
  • There’s no way to upload a contract amendment into EPC.  Don’t create a new Contract Record.  You can mention in the FRN narrative if your contract was amended and PIA will reach out for a copy of the amendment if they need it.

I will also be checking e-mail this weekend if you have any questions.

Happy filing! 

— Julie

Julie Tritt Schell
Pennsylvania E-rate Coordinator
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org    

717-730-7133

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