June 2025 E-rate Update

June 26, 2025

Happy Summer, E-raters!  Below are several E-rate updates and reminders…

  • Supreme Court Decision Expected Tomorrow:  The US Supreme Court is expected to hand down their decision tomorrow, June 27, on the constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund.  Specific questions the Court is expected to answer and a summary of the case are available at https://e-ratepa.org/?p=35922.  I will send a summary of the Court’s decision tomorrow.   
  • Status of FY 2025 Funding Commitments:  As of June 26, 72% of PA funding requests have been decided.  PIA continues to actively review applications so if your application has not yet been decided, be checking your e-mail for PIA inquiries.  If you need assistance with understanding the PIA review process or where to find the PIA reviewer’s questions, please see: PIA-Review-Guide-FY-2025.pdf.  If you need assistance with responding to a PIA inquiry, please e-mail me.
    • If you have an application still pending and have not received any PIA inquiries, or it’s been 60+ days since your last PIA correspondence, please send me your Entity Name, BEN, 471 #, and last date of PIA correspondence. 
  • Off-Campus Wi-Fi Hotspot Eligibility Update:   On May 8, the U.S. Senate passed S.J. Res. 7 to overturn the FCC’s decision to allow E-rate funding to be used for Wi-Fi hotspot lending by schools and libraries.  However, the measure has not been passed by the U.S. House.  It appears that USAC is not actively reviewing these applications.  I will keep you updated if there is further action on the eligibility of Wi-Fi hotspots. 
  • Last Chance to Sign PEPPM LOA:  E-rate rules require all consortia leads to obtain a signed LOA (Letter of Agency) from their participating members before the E-rate Form 470 is posted.  The current PA PEPPM Contract is being rebid this summer, so if you did NOT sign the PEPPM LOA in June/July 2022, you have an additional opportunity to join the PEPPM consortium now.  Please note:  almost all LEAs signed the PEPPM LOA in 2022; therefore, this message mostly pertains to charter schools, nonpublic schools and libraries.  If your name is NOT on this list and you wish to be added to the PEPPM consortium, please complete this online LOA by Wednesday, July 9.  https://www.peppm.org/erate2025/.  By signing this LOA, you are not obligating yourself whatsoever to purchase from the PEPPM contract.  You are merely stating that you are allowing the PEPPM administrators to include you as an eligible entity on the Form 470 which will then give you the option to use the PEPPM mini-bid process for your C2 E-rate procurements in the future.
  • Error Messages Logging in to EPC:  I know applicants are still receiving this error message when logging into EPC:  “AuthSDKError: Unable to parse a token from the URL”.   USAC continues to try to resolve the error, but in the meantime, the best resolution is to simply hit your browser’s BACK button.   
  • Out of Window Waivers – The FCC continues to issue out of window waivers for applicants that filed late Form 471s by April 9 and requested a window waiver from the FCC.  If you are still awaiting a decision, the Commission releases them on the first business day of the month and if your waiver or appeal is included, you will receive an e-mail from the FCC with an attachment of their appeal decisions for that month, showing that their waiver was approved.  If your waiver request is approved, the FCC will direct USAC to move your application to “in window” status and proceed with PIA review in the normal review queue.  There’s nothing you have to do except wait to see if PIA has questions for you in the coming weeks/months.  To see what decisions the FCC has granted thus far, go to: e-rate-schools-libraries-usf-program, scroll down, and you’ll be able to see [month] USF Appeals Public Notice.
  • FY 2024 and FY 2025 BEAR Reimbursement Filings:  Starting July 1, 2025, applicants can begin to submit BEARs for FY 2025 equipment purchases that were made on or after April 1, 2025 (service providers can also submit FY 2025 SPIs on or after this date).  This is also about the time when applicants who did not receive discounted vendor bills for FY 2024 recurring services will begin to submit those BEARs as well, with a deadline of October 28, 2025 .  I’ll provide more detailed information on filing that form in the coming weeks.   

Reminders:

  • File Your FY 2025 Form 486:  The next step after receiving a FCDL (funding commitment decision letter) is to file the Form 486. It’s a very easy form to submit and I strongly encourage you to file it on the day you receive the FCDL so you don’t forget.  Two reminders:  Check the ‘Early Filing Box’ if filing the 486 before July 31, and be careful not to be “click happy” on the CIPA certifications.  Full instructions on the Form 486 can be found at: Form-486-Filing-Guide-FY-2025.pdf.  I’ll send out a 486 reminder in a few months with the list of applicants that haven’t yet filed.
  • Label and Inventory Category 2 Equipment:  If you applied for Category 2 discounts this year, don’t forget to label the equipment before it’s installed, and add the equipment to your asset inventory.  For more details on these requirements, in addition to other C2-related issues, please review the Category 2 Purchasing Guide, available at: Equipment-Purchasing-Guide-FY-2025.pdf. 
  • Request Discounted Bills:  Be sure to tell your vendors if you want to receive discounted bills where the vendor then seeks reimbursement.  If you prefer to pay your vendor invoices in full and then submit the Form 472 BEAR to seek reimbursement, that’s your option, but you must stick with one invoicing method or the other for the entire funding year for each FRN.
  • Changing EPC Account Administrators/Adding New EPC Users:  Summer often brings staffing changes and it’s important that the new staff get set up in EPC so they are prepared to file E-rate forms as soon as they’re due.  Hints:  Only AA’s can create new EPC user accounts and assign User ‘permissions.’  Only AAs can transfer their AA ‘credentials’ to another existing EPC User.  If the AA is the new staff member and the previous AA is no longer with the school or library, contact CSC at 888-203-8100 and they will set up a new EPC AA account (only CSC can do this).  For a complete guide on how to add/remove EPC users, or change AAs, see: EPC-How-To-Guide-as-of-Nov-2024.pdf.  Also, if you need any new E-rate contacts added to the PA E-rate Listserve, please e-mail me their contact information.

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

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