Funding Status
The FY 2012 Form 471 application filing window will open at noon today, January 9, 2012, and will close at 11:59 pm EDT on Tuesday, March 20, 2012.
Wave 29 for FY 2011 will be released on Tuesday, January 10th. Cumulative funding for FY 2011 is currently $1.47 billion. The SLD has indicated that it hopes to have funded all normal Priority 1 applications by mid-February. Priority 2 funding, which may slow a bit while PIA focuses on Priority 1, is currently being provided only at the 90% level.
Wave 81 for FY 2010 will be released on Wednesday, January 11th. Cumulative funding for FY 2010 is $2.93 billion. Priority 2 funding is being provided at all discount levels.
E-Rate Updates and Reminders
Warning – Remember the Yugo:
In an SLD presentation a few years back, SLD Vice President Mel Blackwell compared the SLD's computer system to an old Chevy. Having fond memories of old Chevys, we find that comparison a bit nostalgic and misleading. While old by today's standards, those Chevys were pretty reliable. A better comparison for the SLD's IT system might be the Yugo, the not so old, cheap, unreliable, subcompact built by Zastava in Yugo, Baltistan (a small village in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region), and sold briefly in the U.S.
We mention this because many applicants have a tendency to wait until the last possible day — or even last possible hour — to file their Form 470s and Form 471s (see SLD News Brief deadlines discussed below). The Yugo is gone now, but the SLD's system is still around, still old, and still unreliable. Just last week, applicants were reporting scattered problems with the online Form 486 and the Two-in-Five Tool. USAC was apparently having problems too, having just sent out a number of Form 486 Urgent Reminder Letters to applicants who had already filed their Form 486s.
Applicants relying on the SLD's computer system to flawlessly handle the inevitable surge of late-filed applications are just asking for trouble. The SLD's News Brief urges applicants to “File Early.” We couldn't agree more.
2011 E-Rate Training Material:
With the opening of the Form 471 application window this week, it might be useful to review some of the extensive E-rate training materials presented by the SLD and a number of states that conducted E-rate workshops over the past few months. Much of the material from these trainings can be found online including the agenda and slides for the SLD's 2011 fall training. USAC training videos are also available online. Two short ones on Form 470 Filing and Dark Fiber are on the USAC Web site. Longer presentations on E-Rate Topics (and other Universal Service Fund programs) are available on YouTube.
Applicants seeking other E-rate training material opportunities should check state E-rate Web sites. Links to many of these Web sites may be found on the State Information pages of the E-Rate Central Web site. Other sources of basic E-rate training include two Webinars — E-Rate for Beginners and Form 471 and Beyond — conducted by E-Rate Central earlier this year. Copies of E-Rate Central's presentation slides used for New York and New Mexico training are also available.
Schools and Libraries News Brief dated January 6 – FY 2012 Application Window
Last week's SLD News Brief for January 6, 2012, provides a few very basic tips for coping with the FY 2012 application filing window, namely:
- File early
- File online
- Use the Online Item 21 Attachment
- Retain all documents
- Review program guidance materials (see training links provided above)
The News Brief also notes that February 21st is the last possible day for posting a Form 470 that can be used for FY 2012 applications. But that is late! Applicants with Form 470s posted on that date must wait the required 28 days to select vendors, sign contracts, and submit their Form 471 applications — all on the last day of the application window, March 20th.
Note that a Form 470 filed online will be posted as of that date it is submitted. A printed Form 470 mailed to USAC will be posted when it is data–entered by USAC. USAC has indicated that it will “make every effort” to data-enter and post Form 470s mailed to it by February 21st if received or postmarked no later than February 14th.