Form 470 Information for FY2004 Applicants

The SLD is providing the important information below to assist you with the application process for Funding Year 2004.

Open, fair competitive bidding process. The purpose of the Form 470 is to open a competitive bidding process for the services desired. The Form 470 applicant is responsible for ensuring an open and fair competitive process and selecting the most cost-effective provider of the desired services, with price as the primary factor in the selection, i.e., price is weighted more heavily than any other single factor.

Description of services. Your Form 470 or RFP MUST define the specific services or functions (and quantity and/or capacity) for which funding will be sought. You MUST obtain specific cost information, including prices for products and services to be provided. Failure to adhere to these rules violates the requirement to choose the most cost-effective provider.

Requests for Proposals (RFPs) or other solicitation methods must be tailored specifically to your needs and circumstances, and based directly on your technology plan. Use of a generic RFP or generic FCC Form 470 used successfully by another applicant, for example, does not comply with the Commission’s competitive bidding requirements. RFPs and competitive bidding processes that are structured to favor one service provider undermine the competitive process.

Remember also that you cannot seek discounts for services in a category of service on the Form 471 if those services in those categories were not indicated on a Form 470.

Eligibility of voice mail and clarification of “educational purpose” definition. Beginning in Funding Year 2004, voice mail is an eligible service. Voice mail can be funded if it is categorized as Telecommunications Services or Internet Access, and can also be funded as a component of Internal Connections.

Also beginning in Funding Year 2004, activities that are integral, immediate, and proximate to the education of students or the provision of library services to library patrons qualify as educational purposes. Furthermore, in certain limited circumstances, telecommunications services used offsite — such as bus drivers on a school bus, library personnel in a mobile library van, or school staff on field trips or at school sporting events — are also eligible.

If you have already filed a Form 470 for Funding Year 2004 and you did not include the above services in your RFP or description of services, you must file a new Form 470 to seek discounts on those services. If you are operating under a multi-year contract and you did not include the above services in your original RFP or description of services, you must file a new Form 470 for Funding Year 2004 to seek discounts on those services in Funding Year 2004. (If those services were included in your original RFP or description of services, you can reference that previous year’s Form 470 on your Funding Year 2004 Form 471.)

Reimbursements vs. discounts. Under FCC rules to become effective with Funding Year 2004, your service provider must offer you the option of requesting discounts on bills, or of paying the bills in full and then receiving reimbursement. We recommend that you include your preferred method for receiving discounts when considering bids and discuss that with your service provider.

Service provider involvement with the Form 470. The Form 470 must be completed by the entity that will negotiate with potential service providers. A service provider who will participate in the competitive bidding process as a bidder cannot complete it. Please be aware that if a service provider was involved in the preparation or certification of your Form 470, this involvement could taint the competitive bidding process and result in the denial of your funding requests.

If you believe that a service provider was improperly involved in the submission of this Form 470, you should cancel this Form 470 and submit a new one if you wish. To cancel a Form 470, contact the Client Service Bureau by e-mail at question@universalservice.org, by fax at 1-888-276-8736 or by phone at 1-888-203-8100 and follow the instructions they provide.

28-day competitive bidding period. FCC rules require that requests for tariffed or month-to-month services and requests for new contractual services be posted on the SLD web site for a period of at least 28 days before selecting a vendor in order to provide for a competitive bidding process. State or local laws may require a longer procurement cycle. This 28-day waiting period must occur before you may establish a contract between yourself and your service provider. In addition, if you are seeking support on your Form 470 for the first time for services delivered under a multi-year contract signed on or before July 10, 1997, the SLD cannot process your Form 471 until the 28-day waiting period has elapsed.

Contracts. Except for services to be delivered under non-contracted tariff or month-to-month arrangements, you must sign a contract with your service provider before you sign and submit your completed Form 471. You must also comply with state contract law. Listing a service provider on your Form 471 does NOT create a contract. You must be able to demonstrate that you had a contract in place at the time that you submitted your Form 471.

State and local procurement laws. You must follow all state and local procurement laws that apply to you. You must also be able to demonstrate compliance with these laws.

Retaining documentation. You must retain copies of bidding specifications and/or requests for proposals (RFPs), all bids received (both winning and losing) and all contracts with your service provider. You must also maintain documentation of the process and any related analyses leading to the selection of the winning bid(s). You must be able to demonstrate that the bid you chose is the most cost-effective, with price being the primary factor.

For additional information, please refer to the Form 470 Reminders posted in the Reference Area of this web site.