{"id":35294,"date":"2024-01-11T00:36:09","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T00:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e-ratepaorg.local\/?p=35294"},"modified":"2024-01-28T00:39:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-28T00:39:46","slug":"happy-new-year-e-raters-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=35294","title":{"rendered":"Happy New Year, E-raters!"},"content":{"rendered":"

January 11, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope everyone had an awesome (and healthy) holiday break and are ready to continue the FY 2024 E-rate application process!\u00a0 Here\u2019s a quick reminder of what you should be doing now and other timely E-rate updates:<\/p>\n

Last Day to Update EPC Profiles is Tomorrow – Friday, January 12<\/strong>:\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t yet done so, be sure to update your enrollment and NSLP data (or CEP%) in EPC so your discount can be updated.\u00a0 This is required to be done annually.\u00a0 Also, if you are applying for Category 2 in FY 2024 and your current district-wide enrollment is higher than\u00a0what\u2019s currently showing<\/a>\u00a0in your C2 budget calculations, be sure to update your Category 2 enrollment as well.\u00a0 Instructions on how to do both updates are available at:\u00a0https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=35241<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Form 471 window opens January 17:<\/strong>\u00a0 The Form 471 Window will open on January 17 and will close on March 27.\u00a0 If you have an existing service in a multi-year contract (no 470 needed), or have already completed your bidding and signed a signed vendor contract, or if you\u2019re using the\u00a0CABIO Bidding Exemption Option<\/a>, you can file your Form 471 as soon as the window opens on January 17!\u00a0 The only anticipated changes to the Form 471 for FY 2024 will be minor tweaks related to school bus Wi-Fi.\u00a0 I will send an updated Form 471 Guide in a few weeks, but in the meantime, please use the\u00a0FY 2023 resources<\/a>\u00a0for your FY 2024 filings.<\/p>\n

Posting Category 1 Form 470\u2019s:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>If you need to competitively bid a recurring service, time is running out to post your Form 470.\u00a0 How do you know if you have to bid?\u00a0 Here\u2019s a reminder:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 If a service is covered on a Month-to-Month basis (meaning no contract exists \u2013 these are mostly cable modem-type services) AND your services do not qualify for the\u00a0CABIO Bidding Exemption Option<\/a>;<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0 At the\u00a0beginning\u00a0of any new contract.\u00a0 Note:\u00a0 If you posted a Form 470 in a previous year, and then signed a multi-year contract that expires on or after June 30, 2025, you are\u00a0not\u00a0required to file a Form 470 for FY 2024.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0 If you\u2019re upgrading service and the upgrades and associated prices are not included in the original contract.<\/p>\n

A rebidding status list, based on the contract expiration dates you listed on the FY 2023 Form 471, is available at:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=35117<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Resources for School Bus Wi-Fi Bidding<\/strong>:\u00a0 If you will be seeking E-rate funding for school bus Wi-Fi equipment or services for FY 2024, competitive bidding is required.\u00a0 Form 470 bidding instructions and an RFP template is available at:\u00a0https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=35259<\/a>.\u00a0 In addition, a new bus Wi-Fi bid evaluation template is available at:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Bid-Evaluation-Matrix-Template-Bus-Wi-Fi.xlsx<\/a>\u00a0(please customize all of the templates, as needed, for your specific situation).\u00a0To learn more about eligibility and rules related to this new initiative, see:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=35231<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Deadline to File BEARs for FY 2022 Non-Recurring Services\/Equipment is January 29:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>There are many entities that have unreimbursed funds from FY 2021 and FY 2022 for non-recurring services or equipment.\u00a0 Check and see if you are on\u00a0this list<\/a>\u00a0and if so, determine if you purchased the equipment or services by the required deadlines, and paid your vendor in full.\u00a0 If so, then file the BEAR to seek reimbursement by the deadline.\u00a0 If you received the equipment or services but only paid the vendor for the non-discounted portion, please remind your vendor that they should submit their SPI to seek reimbursement by the deadline.\u00a0 If you did not purchase any or all of the equipment or services, file a Form 500 to reduce your commitment which will automatically reinstate those funds into your Category 2 budget!<\/p>\n

Want to Comment on FCC\u2019s Cybersecurity Pilot?<\/strong>\u00a0 If you are interested in submitting comments to the FCC related to their new\u00a0Cybersecurity Pilot initiative<\/a>, comments are due on or before January 29, 2024 and reply comments are due on or before February 27, 2024.\u00a0 To submit comments,\u00a0I strongly encourage you to first read the\u00a0NPRM<\/strong><\/a>, then upload your comments\u00a0on the FCC\u2019s filing site at:\u00a0https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/ecfs\/filings\/standard<\/a>.\u00a0 The FCC will review the public comments and then release a final Order (maybe in March\/April?) that will establish the dates for the\u00a060-day Pilot Application Window to submit the new Form 484.\u00a0 Within 90 days following the Form 484 deadline, the FCC will review all applications and select Pilot Participants.<\/p>\n

Community Facilities Grant for Anchor Institutions<\/strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0 The PA Broadband Authority (PBDA) has recently released guidelines for an exciting new grant –\u00a0The Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Program<\/a>\u00a0– geared specifically to help anchor institutions (schools, libraries, etc.) and local governments\u00a0construct, purchase or improve facilities that are or will be open to the public and will directly enable work, education, and health monitoring.\u00a0 FAQs, a recorded webinar and office hours will be announced soon.\u00a0 In the meantime, if you\u2019ve read the\u00a0guidelines<\/a>\u00a0and still have questions, please direct them to\u00a0\u00a0pbda_capitalprojectsfund@pa.gov.<\/p>\n

— Julie<\/p>\n

Julie Tritt Schell
\nPA E-rate Coordinator<\/p>\n

jtschell@comcast.net<\/p>\n

www.e-ratepa.org<\/p>\n\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January 11, 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-listserve_archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}