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August 10, 2018
TIP OF THE WEEK: SERVICE PROVIDERS: Please certify a SPAC Form for FY2017 if you are actively participating in the E-rate Program for FY2017. Last week, USAC sent individual notifications to all service providers whose SPAC Forms are still outstanding. You can review the July 20 SL News Brief for information on how to file your form.
Commitments for Funding Year 2018
Funding Year 2018. USAC released Funding Year (FY) 2018 Wave 18 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on August 10. As of August 10, FY2018 commitments total over $1.57 billion.
On the date that FCDLs are issued, you can access your FCDL notification from the Notifications section of your landing page in the E-rate Productivity Center (EPC).
August Webinar - Registration Is Now Open
Join USAC for the monthly E-rate Program webinar, Understanding Competitive Bidding, on August 22, 2018 from 3:00-4:30 pm EDT. We will discuss the competitive bidding process from both the applicant and service provider perspectives, including filing and searching for Funding Year 2019 FCC Forms 470, Request For Proposal (RFP) documents, and responding to bids, and also answer written questions from participants.
If you are unable to join us on August 22, you can use the registration link to watch a recording of the event. A recording will also be available via our Online Learning Library.
Reminder on Summer Deferral for PIA Review of FY2018 Applications
During the summer contact period, Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) will put the review of your application on hold if we cannot make a live contact by telephone with the contact person or someone else who has been designated to respond to our questions. You also have the option to request a summer deferral if you know you will not be available to answer PIA questions and you cannot designate someone to answer questions on your behalf.
If your application shows a summer deferral status in EPC but you are available to answer questions and want to restart your application review, simply contact your reviewer using the contact information featured on your PIA questions in EPC. You can also call the Client Service Bureau (CSB) at 888-203-8100 for assistance if you cannot find your reviewer's contact information.
Common Questions on FCC Form 470
Now that applicants are filing FCC Forms 470 for FY2019, we are providing answers to some common questions coming in to CSB.
When can I file an FCC Form 470?
You can file an FCC Form 470 for FY2019 now. The FCC Form 470 for FY2019 became available on July 1, 2018.
What is an RFP and is one required?
In general, a Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal bidding document that describes a project and requested services in sufficient detail so that potential bidders understand the scope, location, and any other requirements. An RFP may be known by a variety of names, for example, an Invitation for Bid (IFB) or Request for Quote (RFQ). In most instances, RFPs are not specifically required as part of the E-rate program, but you must issue one if it is required by your state or local competitive bidding or procurement rules.
We use "RFP" or "RFP document" generically to refer to any bidding document issued as part of your competitive bidding process that describes your project and requested services in more detail than in the fields provided on the FCC Form 470. If you are issuing an RFP and/or one or more RFP documents, you are required to upload those documents to your FCC Form 470.
What changes can I make to my FCC Form 470?
You can make the following changes to a certified FCC Form 470:
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Edit the nickname you created for your form.
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Change the main contact person on the form.
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Edit the technical contact person you identified on the form.
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Add an RFP document.
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If you did not add at least one RFP document to your form before it was certified, you will have to certify a new form in order to be able to attach an RFP document.
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If you issue an RFP document AFTER an FCC Form 470 is certified, you MUST upload the RFP document to that certified FCC Form 470.
How do I make corrections to the FCC Form 470?
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Navigate to the form in EPC. You can do this in two ways:
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Go to the bottom of your landing page and search for and locate your form using the search criteria provided or
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Click the Records tab, choose FCC Forms 470, and use the search criteria provided to locate your form.
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Choose Related Actions from the menu.
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Click the link to the action you want to take from the menu.
Some My FCC Form 470 does not show the correct number of entities. What do I need to do?
We strongly recommend updating the entities in your profile in EPC before you start a form. CSB can help you create entities, add and remove entities, and create annexes as needed. If you do this work before you certify your FCC Form 470, the number of entities should be correct.
However, if your entity count is still not correct, you can add an RFP document to your form to explain the discrepancy (for example, if services are delivered to annexes that have a different address but EPC did not count them as separate entities). Remember, though, that you must have attached at least one RFP document to your form in order to add another one after the form is certified. Otherwise, you must start a new form.
What service/function should I list this service/product under on the FCC Form 470?
You may not be sure exactly where on the FCC Form 470 to list a particular product or service. If the product or service appears to fit into more than one category of service or service type, you should:
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List the product or service under all of the categories or service types where it fits, and
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Provide a detailed explanation of the services you are requesting in the narrative field of the FCC Form 470 and/or your RFP or RFP document.
What should I do if I certified an FCC Form 470 and left off some services?
The clearest way to proceed is to certify a new FCC Form 470 and include all of the services you want on that form and its associated RFP and/or RFP documents. If you attached an RFP document to the original form, you can attach another document to your original form to notify bidders that they should use the information in the new FCC Form 470 (include the new FCC Form 470 number) instead of the original one.
You can also attach one or more RFP documents to your existing form (again, if you attached at least one RFP document to that form before it was certified) to add the services that were omitted. Keep in mind that the addition of those services will probably be a cardinal change, and you must restart your 28-day waiting period from the date you add the document.
A third option is to certify a new FCC Form 470 that contains only the additional services. If you choose this option, be very clear whether you want bids that include all of the products and services in both forms, or if you are willing to accept separate bids for the services on each form.
For more information on the FCC Form 470 and the competitive bidding process, you can refer to the following resources available on the USAC website:
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