Information for Year 9 E-rate PEPPM Purchases
Message Posted January 26, 2006
As you know, the only way an E-rate applicant can submit a Form 471 without submitting a 470 is when someone else submits the 470 on your behalf. Such is the situation with the state's PEPPM contract for internal connections. As in previous years, the PA Department of Education has filed a Form 470 to competitively bid the PEPPM contracts. Schools (both public and nonpublic) and libraries that would like to purchase and take receipt of an E-rate eligible item from PEPPM on or after July 1, 2006 may now simply file one form, the Form 471. The Form 471 filing window is currently open and thus Form 471 applications may be submitted immediately. The final day that applications can be postmarked for Year 9 is February 16, 2006.
New products lines have been added to PEPPM (and therefore new vendor contracts have been signed) since the initial PEPPM contract was rebid in 2004. Because these new products were competitively bid using a new Form 470, applicants using PEPPM for purchases will have to make certain to use the correct Form 470 number and contract signing date for each product on your Form 471, Block 5. How will you know which information to use? Go to: http://www.peppm.org/pa/erate/Year9/year9Intro.htm to find the PEPPM Product List Table. Simply find your product line in the table and click the Product's name. The correct information to be used in the Form 471, Block 5 will be displayed.
Also, at the end of this message is the pertinent information you’ll need for your Form 471, Block 5 for all PEPPM purchases, depending on the year that the product line was added to PEPPM. (Hint, the most commonly used contracts -- Dell, Cisco, Avaya, HP, 3Com, etc -- were placed on PEPPM in 2004.)
Are we required to sign contracts with vendors before we submit the 471?
No, you are not required to sign a contract prior to the submission of the 471 if you are purchasing from a State Master Contract because the SMC is the contract. But you should document your choice by sending an e-mail or letter to the service provider indicating that you have submitted an E-rate request for discounted services/equipment for FY 2006.
Should we issue a purchase order? If so, when?
Purchase orders must be issued in order to actually order the products but this should be done on or after July 1, 2006. If your purchase is contingent on E-rate funding, a purchase order should be faxed AFTER your funding commitment decision has been made by the SLD, or after July 1, 2006, whichever is later. If you would like to purchase equipment regardless of E-rate approval, you should submit your purchase order to PEPPM anytime after July 1, 2006. When your E-rate approval is received later, you can then simply seek reimbursement using a BEAR form.
The purchase order should be for the full amount of the equipment, not for the E-rate non-discounted amount. Further, the P.O. should clearly state that this is an E-rate item, and include the Funding Request Number (FRN) pertaining to that piece of equipment. In addition, if the P.O. is issued after a funding commitment decision is issued by the SLD, the P.O. should specifically state whether you would like to receive a discounted invoice (where you would just pay the non-discounted portion and the vendor would seek reimbursement from the SLD).
What information should we use if we posted our own 470, but now would like to purchase from PEPPM?
If you posted your own 470 for equipment and are purchasing that equipment from PEPPM, you must have a binding contract -- signed by both parties -- before submitting the 471 (this can be a PO signed by the District and the vendor, listing that it will not be effective until at least July 1, 2006) or it can be a memo signed by both parties, listing the equipment, quantities, prices, and effective dates. Essentially, the SLD believes that if you post your own 470, you are taking the state contract price as one of the bids, which is different than relying on the PEPPM contract entirely.
Can we also use the DGS 5850-04 and 5850-05 Contracts?
Maybe. The 5850-05 contract for IT Hardware, Peripherals and Networking Gear, and the 5850-04 contract for IT Servers and Data Storage, are set to expire July 2006. We do not yet know if DGS is going to rebid these contracts or extend them by another year. As soon as we know this information, we will provide the pertinent contract information to the listserve so you can include it on your 471s.
Information you’ll need for your Form 471, Block 5 for all PEPPM purchases.
Product Lines Added to PEPPM in 2004 (most commonly used):
# 12: 470 Application Number for the PEPPM contract is: 169310000459211
# 15b: Contract Number: PEPPM State Contract 2004
# 15c: Check this box as this funding request is being purchased from a Master Contract
# 17: Allowable Contract Date: 10/28/2003
# 18: Contract Award Date: 11/20/2003
# 19: Service Start Date: 07/01/2006 (always use this number for all Year 9 Form 471s)
# 20b: Contract Expiration Date: 12/31/2006
Product Lines Added to PEPPM in 2005:
# 12: 470 Application Number for the PEPPM contract is: 759400000502715
# 15b: Contract Number: PEPPM State Contract 2005
# 15c: Check this box as this funding request is being purchased from a Master Contract
# 17: Allowable Contract Date: 10/27/2004
# 18: Contract Award Date: 11/18/2004
# 19: Service Start Date: 07/01/2006 (always use this number for all Year 9 Form 471s)
# 20b: Contract Expiration Date: 12/31/2006
Applicants should complete the Form 471 online (www.sl.universalservice.org/menu.asp). Assistance with filing the Form 471 for PEPPM items will be provided by Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit staff by calling (570) 523-1155 ext. 2144.
Julie Tritt Schell
jtschell@comcast.net
(717) 730.7133 (voice)
(717) 730.9060 (fax)
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