E-rate is a deadline-driven program. Most every E-rate form or program request has a submission deadline. Unfortunately, but perhaps not unexpectedly, too many people wait until a deadline is imminent before acting. Fortunately, in the case of most E-rate deadlines, there is little downside to just meeting a deadline.
The Form 470 filing “deadline” is an exception. We express “deadline” in quotes because technically a Form 470 may be filed at any time to begin a competitive bidding process. There is, however, a firm deadline for submitting a Form 471 application — March 25th for FY 2020. If discounts are to be requested on an associated Form 471 application, the competitive bidding process must be fully completed before that application is filed. As a result, February 26th — 28 days prior to the Form 471 deadline — may be considered the Form 470 “deadline” for FY 2020.
A recent E-rate blog, for example, from Cisco makes the following points:
3 key things you need to know about E-rate funding in 2020
- E-rate program rules require that competitive bids be open for a minimum of 28 calendar days.
- The last date that a competitive bid may be started in any given Funding Year is 28 days before the Form 471 window closes (more info here).
- For Funding Year 2020, this means that applicants will have until February 26, 2020 to file Form 470 (more info here) and still have the required 28 days for competitive bidding.
USAC also references “the February 26 deadline for posting the FCC Form 470.” We reluctantly list February 26th as the “Last day to file a Form 470 to meet the minimum 28-day posting requirement prior to the close of the FY 2020 Form 471 application window” in our “Upcoming E-Rate Dates” section below.
February 26th, however, is a dangerous Form 470 “deadline” for FY 2020. Here’s why:
- At a minimum, a Form 470 must be posted for 28 days. The 28-day period for a Form 470 posted on February 26th ends on March 25th.
- The Form 471 filing deadline for FY 2020 is 11:59 p.m. EDT on March 25th.
- To utilize a Form 470 filed on February 26th in a Form 471 to be filed by March 25th, an applicant must have:
- Received, reviewed, and evaluated all bids on March 25th.
- Selected the winning bidder(s) on March 25th.
- Awarded and signed the contract(s) on March 25th and uploaded the contract(s) into EPC.
- Completed and certified the Form 471 before midnight EST March 25th.
Completing a competitive bidding process and filing a Form 471 in one day is a challenge for any applicant — even if everything goes right.
Putting aside potential IT pressures on USAC’s EPC system, the most common problem with meeting the Form 471 filing process on the last day of the filing window is that many competitive bidding arrangements require more than the 28-day minimum. In particular:
- Some projects are more complex and require longer bidding cycles to give vendors sufficient time to develop responsive bids. This is particularly true for new fiber projects involving extensive outside plant construction or for larger internal networking projects (perhaps involving vendor walk-throughs).
- Questions and/or issues arising during the bidding period, either as a part of a formal Q&A process or as raised by potential bidders, may require additions or addendums to RFP documents. To the extent that additional information provided is, or even may be considered, a “cardinal” change, the minimum bidding period should be extended anew.
- Additional time may be required in the bid evaluation process to clarify details of received bids and/or to review and validate vendor documentation re. bid bonds, insurance coverage, etc.
- Bid evaluations by multiple parties may need to be coordinated and scored.
- Contracts may need to be written, reviewed, approved, and signed by multiple parties.
- Finalized contracts may require board approval.
The safest course of action is to avoid having to rely on a 28-day minimum bidding period ending on the final day of the Form 471 application window. We encourage applicants to establish their own Form 470 “deadline” no later than the end of January.