{"id":34531,"date":"2022-11-08T00:16:05","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T00:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e-ratepaorg.local\/?p=34531"},"modified":"2022-11-09T00:24:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T00:24:21","slug":"lets-begin-e-rate-funding-year-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=34531","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Begin E-rate Funding Year 2023!"},"content":{"rendered":"

November 8, 2022<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m so excited to announce the beginning of the FY 2023 E-rate application process!\u00a0\u00a0 Below is a summary of the changes you can expect for FY 2023, important reminders, and a helpful \u201cwhat to do by what date\u201d chart at the bottom.<\/p>\n

1) \u00a0FY 2023 Form 471 Filing Window Dates<\/strong><\/p>\n

— The FCC has not yet released the official FY 2023 Eligible Services List (ESL) which means that USAC cannot yet announce the official Form 471 Filing Window dates.\u00a0 However, they indicated recently that they expect the window dates to be very similar to last year, which means it would likely open around the second week in January and close around March 21, 2023.\u00a0 For a suggested FY 2023 bidding\/filing timeline, see the chart at the bottom of this message.<\/p>\n

2) \u00a0 Helpful Guide to Understanding Form 470 Options<\/strong><\/p>\n

— Last year, the FCC modified the drop-down options to be descriptive options with progressive disclosures for Category 1 (meaning the form takes you to additional levels of questions, depending on the options you select).\u00a0 To make the options a little more understandable, I\u2019ve created this helpful guide that contains screenshots of the Form 470 with plain language annotations:\u00a0https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Guide-to-New-Form-470-Options1.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3)<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cannot Begin PEPPM Mini-Bids Until January<\/strong><\/p>\n

— If you intend to use the PEPPM Mini-bid system as the procurement vehicle for your FY 2023 Category 2 equipment purchases, note that you cannot release the PEPPM mini-bid to vendors until at least January 2, 2023.\u00a0 The reason is\u00a0that the current PEPPM contract expires at the end of 2022 and the next contract will not become available for use until January 2, 2023.\u00a0 Thus, no mini-bids can be issued to (what will be) the newly awarded vendors until at least that date.\u00a0 The Form 471 filing deadline is expected to be mid-March, which means that, assuming your PEPPM procurement is conducted in early January, your C2 contracts will likely have to be approved at your February board meetings.<\/p>\n

4) \u00a0 Updating Entity Profiles in the \u201cAdministrative Window\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

— The \u201cAdministrative Window\u201d is the period\u00a0before<\/em>\u00a0the 471 application window, during which time schools update their enrollment and NSLP (or CEP%) data in each school\u2019s EPC profile.\u00a0 The Admin Window is now open and is expected to close the first week in January.\u00a0 For the previous two years, schools were not required to update this data due to the pandemic;\u00a0however, for FY 2023, schools are required to update their EPC profiles with their fall 2022 data.\u00a0 \u00a0In mid-December I will send to the listserve a spreadsheet from PDE that provides the enrollment, NSLP (or CEP%) data along with a guide\u00a0that will walk you through the process for updating each school\u2019s EPC profile.<\/p>\n

5) \u00a0 Category 2 Budgets \u2013 What\u2019s Remaining for Your School or Library<\/strong><\/p>\n

— FY 2023 will be the 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0year of the current 5-year\u00a0Category 2 budget which spans FY 2021 \u2013 FY 2025.\u00a0 \u00a0C2 budgets are calculated based on the C2 multiplier ($167\/student for schools and $4.50\/sq ft for libraries \u2013 or a minimum of $25,000\/building) and the Category 2 enrollment or library square footage that\u2019s currently in EPC.\u00a0\u00a0The school enrollment or library square footage figure used for C2 budgets can be different from the enrollment used for discount calculations!\u00a0 Schools can use the same C2 enrollment for the entire budget cycle or modify it if enrollment has increased to take advantage of the higher C2 budget (see #6).\u00a0 To see what your remaining C2 budget is for FY 2023 \u2013 FY 2025 (as of 11\/8\/2022), see:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Remaining-C2-Budgets-as-of-Nov-8-2022.xlsx<\/a>.\u00a0 If you update your C2 enrollment in EPC, the C2 budget will change and the results can be found on USAC\u2019s C2 Budget Data Tool at:\u00a0https:\/\/opendata.usac.org\/E-rate\/E-Rate-C2-Budget-Tool-FY2021-\/8z69-hkn7<\/a>.\u00a0 Simply use the filter on the right side of the page.<\/p>\n

6)\u00a0 Updating Category 2 Enrollment Data\/Library Square Footage in EPC<\/strong><\/p>\n

— I encourage everyone to wait until the PDE enrollment data is released mid-December before deciding whether to update your C2 enrollment budget and requesting a C2 budget recalculation with USAC.\u00a0 At that time, I\u2019ll send out a guide that explains where in EPC to update this data (it\u2019s different than the discount data profile pages) and how to request a budget recalculations.\u00a0 But if you are a library with new square footage, or you\u2019re a school that is anxious to get started or know that your data will not be included on the PDE dataset, the guide to updating this data can be found here:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/5-2-2-Category-2-Replacement-Budget-Requests-2023-NEW1.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7) \u00a0Unsure Whether You Need to Rebid Category 1 Services This Year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

— In order to remind you of the status of your current Category 1 contracts (telecom and Internet), I will be sending to the listserve a list of all FY 2022 C1 FRNs, and the expiration dates of those contracts.\u00a0 In the spreadsheet there will be an additional column \u2013 \u201cJulie\u2019s Rebidding Status Notes\u201d \u2013 explaining whether I think the service must be rebid for FY 2023.<\/p>\n

8) \u00a0Extending an Existing Contract?<\/strong>
\n— If your original contract includes (finite, not open-ended) voluntary extensions and you wish to exercise one of those extensions for FY 2023, be certain to notify the vendor in writing of that decision before the Form 471 is filed.\u00a0 USAC will ask for a copy of that written notification during PIA review, so be sure to retain evidence of that notification.<\/p>\n

9)<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0E-rate RFP\/Form 470 Narrative Guide Released<\/strong><\/p>\n

— To assist applicants with preparing their E-rate Request for Proposals (RFPs), I\u2019ve created the\u00a0RFP & Form 470 Narrative Guide<\/a>\u00a0that contains the following information related to both Category 1 and Category 2 service\/equipment requests:<\/p>\n