Wave 2 Funding for FY 2002
Wave 2 of Funding Year 2002 (previously "FY 5") will be released on Tuesday, May 7.Total funding in this wave is approximately $108 million for over 2,700 applications.The cumulative total for FY 2002 is now $297 million for 11,780 applications.
At this time, funding is being provided only for Priority One (telecommunications and Internet access) services only. Applicants with discount rates below 80% are being told that their requests for Priority Two (internal connection) services will be denied due to insufficient funds. It is not yet clear if any internal connection funding will be available at 80-89%
The Form 470 for FY 2003 is now available for manual or online filing. Any applicant planning to file a Form 471 application in January 2003 for 2003-2004 year services to be received under tariff, month-to-month billing arrangements, or new contracts must make sure to have a new Form 470 posted on the SLD Web site at least 28 days before signing a new contract and/or
Copies of the new Form 470 and its instructions can be downloaded from the Forms section of the SLD Web site . The new 470, designated "April 2002" at the bottom of each page, is a slightly revised version of the Form previously dated "September 1999." Since the data requirements are the same for both versions, the SLD will actually accept mailed copies of either. (If possible, however, we suggest using the newer version.)
Applicants filing online will automatically be using the newer version. To Apply Online, go to the SLD Web site's menu and click on the Form 470 "Create/Submit" button.
The only major change to the Form 470 is the addition of an information box at the bottom of page 5 stating in part that: "Service provider involvement with preparation or certification of a Form 470 can taint the competitive bidding process and result in the denial of funding requests."
A key change to the Form 470 instructions is the elimination of an earlier requirement that applicants wait until at least July 1 to file a Form 470 for tariffed or month-to-month services. As a result, applicants can file a complete Form 470 for FY 2003 now.
One warning: Applicants who fill out and manually file paper copies of the Form 470 must be very careful to specify the correct funding year in Block 1, Item 2. If the Form is to be used for next year's Form 471 application, the funding year must be July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004. If an earlier date range is used, the Form 470 will not be posted for the proper year and, as a result, the subsequent Form 471 will not be able to reference a valid Form 470. Online filers will find that the SLD has correctly set the default setting for creating new Form 470s to the 2003-2004 funding year.