Administrative Window Closed – Entity Profiles Locked:
The night before the FY 2019 application window opened, USAC closed the administrative window and locked EPC entity profiles for the duration of the application window. The purpose of this lockdown is to assure consistent entity data, not only for school applicants submitting multiple applications, but for consortium and library applicants whose discounts are dependent upon each consortium member’s data or each library’s associated school district data.
Applicants attempting to update entity data during the application window will receive the following EPC message:
With EPC entity profiles now locked, applicants will be unable to make any additional entity updates until approximately April following the close of the application window. At this point, applicants with out-of-date entity profiles have several options.
- Applicants still needing to file Form 470s should clearly indicate proper entity details in the Form 470 narrative sections and in any associated RFPs.
- Similarly, applicants filing Form 471 applications are encouraged to include corrected information in the narrative of any affected FRNs. Upon submission of a Form 471, more detailed entity corrections can be submitted via a RAL Change.
- Applicants may request entity updates from the Client Service Bureau (“CSB”) or via customer service cases. CSB may or may not be able to accommodate such changes depending upon the status of FY 2019 applications, completed or underway, referencing those entities.
Missing Form 471 User Guide:
As shown in the Forms section of the USAC website, most E-rate forms are associated with detailed user guides. The FCC Form 470 User Guide, for example, is a detailed 39-page PDF manual. It is somewhat surprising, therefore, that there is currently no comparable guide for the Form 471, the most complicated of the E-rate forms. There is a hotlink to a webpage entitled FCC Form 471 User Guides, but this provides only the briefest description of the Form 471 and links to Category 1 and Category 2 bulk upload templates.
Currently, the best source of instructional information on the Form 471, for filers willing to devote the time, is the FCC Form 471 Video Series, two sets of videos — one set for Category 1 and another for Category 2 — ranging in length from three to fifteen minutes and each set covering the following topics:
- Starting Your FCC Form 471
- Creating Funding Requests
- Certification
For the more adventuresome filers establishing test system login credentials, USAC also provides an EPC Training Site permitting users to experiment with all aspects of the EPC system, including Form 471 creation, on a trial basis.