Here are the most important deadlines:

• A Form 470 must be posted at least 28 days before the selection of vendors, the signing of contracts, and the signing and filing of a Form 471.
• A Form 471 must be filed within a defined application window, usually announced in October. For the last few years, the application window has run from early November to early February. Unless the FCC waives some of its rules, the window may be delayed this year.
• The Form 486 must be filed within 120 days of the issuance of a Funding Commitment Decision Letter or the Service Start Date, whichever is later. For many, but not all applicants, this deadline is October 29th.
• Form 472 (BEAR) forms must generally be filed within 120 days of the Last Date of Service, normally October 28th for recurring services and January 28th for non-recurring services.
• Appeals must be filed within 60 days of the decision being questioned.

Rule 7: Respond promptly – and carefully – to all review inquiries.

The SLD’s form review process often generates questions that may be phoned, faxed, or e-mailed to applicants. Generally, these informational requests have a seven-day deadline. Ignoring an inquiry is not a good strategy. It can only lead to unilateral SLD action, guaranteed not to be in an applicant’s favor.

Inquiries can come from either Kansas or New Jersey. The Kansas inquiries are made by Problem Resolution, the group responsible for data entering forms submitted by mail. Generally, these are simple inquiries that can be handled quickly.

The New Jersey inquiries are made by Program Integrity Assurance (“PIA”) and are of more substance. Approval, modification or denial of funding can result from PIA decisions, so these inquiries (often requests for additional service information or certifications) must be handled with particular care. Our advice is to work cooperatively with the reviewers. If an inquiry is complicated or will require additional time to respond to, the reviewer can often provide clarification or time extensions.

Rule 8: Technology planning and procurement practices are important.

The increasing focus by Congress, the FCC, the SLD, and the press on alleged waste, fraud, and abuse in the E-rate program has led to new rules and to more intensive reviews dealing specifically with applicant planning and procurement practices. There are three key considerations.

• Although technology plans do not have to be formally approved until the start of the funding year, the rules require applicants to base their funding requests on pre-existing plans that cover all services requested and that demonstrate adequate budget resources.