The following is a summary of the E-rate News for the Week June 19, 2000, prepared by E-Rate Central. Official SLD news appears in the "What’s New!" section of the SLD’s Web site. Additional and archived information appears in the Archive Section on this Web site.
PY3 funding status
Wave Eleven of Funding Commitment Decisions Letters ("FCDLs") for program year three ("PY3") will be mailed on Friday, June 23. Funding awards announced in this Wave will be a relatively small $40 million, including about $2.5 million for NYS applicants.
Cumulatively, the SLD has awarded funding on over 21,000 applications totaling about $788 million in discounts (including $25 million for NYS applicants). We are currently expecting that the funding waves will continue well into July.
Summer Contact database
E-rate applicants, whose contact personnel will be out of the office for all or part of the summer, need to make special plans to deal with SLD inquiries. Issues that may require interaction with the SLD this summer include remaining PY3 funding, PY3 appeals, additional out-of-the-window PY2 funding, and PY2 BEAR reimbursements.
As was done last year, the SLD has established a database that can be used by applicants to provide temporary summer contact information. Information can be entered in the database through the SLD’s Web site, accessed by Billed Entity Number, or by calling the SLD’s help line (888-203-8100).
Form 486 and Form 500 usage
A few weeks ago, the SLD introduced a revised, and somewhat simpler, Form 486 to be used to confirm receipt of a funded E-rate service. A new companion Form 500 was also introduced to be used by applicants needing to change contract expiration dates or wishing to cancel or reduce funding amounts. The revised and new forms are dated April 2000. Copies of both forms, in usable Word and PDF format, can be found on our Web site (E-Rate Central Forms Rack).
The old Form 486, dated July 1999, is being discontinued as of today. Henceforth, the SLD will not process the older version. Old forms received after June 23rd will be returned for resubmission on the revised Form 486 (or, as appropriate, on the new Form 500).
Reminder: There are two specific instances in which a Form 500 should be used:
(a) Applicants wishing to take advantage of the PY2 grace period (ending September 30, 2000) for the use of discounts awarded for non-recurring expenses may need to extend contracts through this period.
(b) Now that the PY2 funding year is drawing to a close, applicants who are clearly not going to use all or a significant portion of any and all funding awards are encouraged to cancel or reduce funding via the Form 500. Such an action may allow additional out-of-the-window PY2 funding for other applicants (and qualify the original applicant for a "good citizen" award). Form 500 can be used for the same purpose for PY3 awards.
LPFM: First filing window results
Additional news on non-commercial educational Low Power FM radio, the other FCC program of potential interest to schools and libraries:
Applications for LPFM station construction permits are being accepted during 5-day filing windows scheduled by the FCC roughly every three months. Applications for the first group of states were filed in early June. The filing period for New York applicants is expected to be in October.
A preliminary review of the first set of filings indicates that 769 applications were received from community-based, local, and state organizations in ten states (including 309 from California). In what may be indicative of future application interest, the vast majority of the applications were from religious groups. Two non-religious applications that caught our eye were one for the "Voice of the Fighting Irish" in Indiana and another for the "Rock ‘n Roll Preservation Society" in California.
Somewhat surprisingly, given the potential educational and community benefits of LPFM, were the relatively few applications received from libraries and from primary and secondary schools (even including a few apparent local educational associations and/or school-related sports booster clubs).
For additional information on LPFM and on its educational potential, please see www.CentralEd.com