March 2002 Announcements

Please click on the topic below to view the most recent announcements:

The last wave of Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) for Funding Year 4 (the Funding Year beginning July 1, 2001) was issued as Wave 15 on March 15, 2002. In Wave 15, the SLD funded approved Internal Connections requests at the 86% level and above, and denied requests below this level.

The SLD is still reviewing a small number of properly completed Form 471 applications which were received or postmarked within the Funding Year 4 Form 471 application filing window but for which an FCDL has not yet been issued. Funds have been reserved for those applications, and FCDLs will be issued for those applications as the SLD completes its review process. Letters are now being sent to these applicants notifying them that their applications are still under review. Applicants can also check the status of their Form(s) 471 in the Apply Online section of this web site.

The total amount of funds committed in Funding Year 4 now stands at slightly over $2.255 billion. Although the funding cap for this Funding Year is set at $2.25 billion, this cap applies to disbursements, not to commitments. Historically, not all funds that are committed in a Funding Year end up being disbursed. The SLD's estimate of total funds that will actually be disbursed for Funding Year 4 - including funds for meritorious appeals - does not exceed this $2.25 billion cap on disbursements

SLD recently announced in Additional Method for Submitting FY5 Form 471 Item 21 Attachments that it would accept Form 471 Item 21 attachments by e-mail. The SLD also will now accept Form 471 Item 21 attachments by fax. Below are guidelines for submitting your Form 471 Item 21 attachments by these two methods.

NOTE: If you have already been contacted by a Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) representative about your Form 471, send your Form 471 Item 21 attachments directly to the representative's e-mail address or fax number as requested, NOT to the e-mail address or fax number below.

Submitting Form 471 Item 21 attachments by e-mail:

• Submit Form 471 Item 21 attachments to attachments@sl.universalservice.org. Do not send submissions other than Form 471 Item 21 attachments to this e-mail address.
• Include the Form 471 Application Number (or Applicant Form Identifier, if you filed your Form 471 manually), the Billed Entity Number, and the Applicant Name in the body of the e-mail message.
• Label each attachment "Form 471 Item 21 Attachment" and identify the Attachment Number you indicated in the relevant Form 471 Block 5 Item 21 Description of Services.
• You may attach multiple files to one e-mail message. However, do not send Item 21 attachments for different Forms 471 in the same e-mail message.
• Limit e-mails to a total file size of 10 megabytes.
• You may send zipped files.
• Attachments may be in color, grey scale or black and white, but they must be legible. If you can’t read it, we won’t be able to read it either.
• Scanned documents may be sent in any format, but TIF (*.tif) format is preferable. Documents may also be sent in most commercially available word processing or spreadsheet formats.

Submitting Form 471 Item 21 attachments by fax:

• Submit Form 471 Item 21 attachments to (973) 599-6511. Do not send submissions other than Form 471 Item 21 attachments to this fax number.
• Include a fax cover sheet which identifies the Form 471 Application Number (or Applicant Form Identifier, if you filed your Form 471 manually), the Billed Entity Number, and the Applicant Name.
• Label each attachment "Form 471 Item 21 Attachment" and identify the Attachment Number you indicated in the relevant Form 471 Block 5 Item 21 Description of Services.

The SLD is committed to doing all we can to issue timely Funding Commitment Decision Letters for Funding Year 5. An important factor in our ability to meet that goal is the efficient processing of more than 36,000 FCC Form 471 applications that were received or postmarked within the application filing window. Reviews of those applications must be assigned and completed promptly and accurately for us to finish processing those applications and issue funding decisions.

We are providing you with a summary of our information request process so that you are aware of the need for a timely response to our requests as outlined below. These requests for additional or clarifying information and/or documentation may be about your FCC Form 471 or any other form.

First, the SLD will attempt to make a successful contact with you using the preferred mode of contact indicated on your form unless the preferred mode of contact is mail. In that case, you will be contacted by telephone.

The following are considered successful contacts:

• A live telephone conversation with the contact person or other person designated by the contact person;
• A voice mail message left at the contact person's telephone number;
• A fax sent to the contact person's fax number with confirmation of successful transmission; or
• An e-mail message sent to the contact person's e-mail address without a return message of unsuccessful transmission.

If the first attempt to contact you is successful, the SLD will follow up with a confirmation. If a successful contact is not made, a second attempt will be made within three business days. If the first attempt to contact you reveals that you are unavailable until a specified date, the SLD will attempt to contact you after the specified date.

You must respond fully to the request and forward all requested documentation to the SLD within seven calendar days after the date of the follow-up confirmation.

If the SLD is unable to contact you as described above, or if the SLD receives an incomplete response from you within seven calendar days, the SLD will send a follow-up fax. You must respond fully to that request and forward all requested documentation to the SLD within seven calendar days after the date that the follow-up fax is sent.

If the SLD is unable to make a successful contact, we will use the information available to attempt to make a successful contact with someone else in your organization. If a successful contact is made, the response timelines described above will apply.

If the SLD does not receive a complete response within the time period set for you to respond, the SLD will attempt to process as much of the form as possible with the information we have. The action taken by the SLD may include rejection or denial of individual Funding Requests or of the entire form.

The SLD cannot process your Funding Year 5 Form(s) 471 until it receives the relevant attachment(s) you identified for each Form 471 Block 5 Item 21, Description of Services. You may submit your Form 471 Item 21 attachment(s) by mail, or you may now e-mail your Form 471 Item 21 attachment(s) to the following address:

attachments@sl.universalservice.org

Do not send submissions other than Form 471 Item 21 attachments to this e-mail address.

To complete the submission of your Form 471 Item 21 attachment(s) by e-mail, follow these steps:

1. Include a cover page that clearly identifies the Form 471 Application Number, the Billed Entity Number, and the Applicant Name for the relevant Form 471. (If you filed Form 471 manually but did not include your Item 21 attachment when you submitted your form, use your Applicant Form Identifier, the Billed Entity Number, and the Applicant Name to identify your form on the cover page.)
2. Label each attachment "Form 471 Item 21 Attachment" and identify the Attachment Number you indicated in the relevant Form 471 Block 5 Item 21 Description of Services.
3. If possible, include all Form 471 Item 21 attachments for a single Form 471 in one e-mail message. However, do not include Form 471 Item 21 attachments for different Forms 471 in the same e-mail message.

NOTE: If you have already been contacted by a Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) representative about your Form 471, send your Form 471 Item 21 attachments directly to the representative's e-mail address or fax number as requested, NOT to the e-mail address above.

On February 28, 2002, the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Schools & Libraries (USAC) reported to the Federal Communications Commission that $5.736 billion in requested funding has been estimated for schools and libraries seeking E-rate discounts for Funding Year 5. This estimate is based on the dollars requested in 36,043 applications received or postmarked by January 17, 2002, the close of the Form 471 application filing window.

There are several factors that will reduce ultimately the funds requested from the estimated level. First, while efforts have been made to eliminate duplicate requests, inevitably we will discover more duplication as we process these applications. Second, SLD's efforts to assure that applications are substantially complete and that funds are committed only for eligible services, for use by eligible entities with the appropriate discount rate, and are otherwise consistent with program rules, will further reduce the demand.

For detailed information, please refer to the FY5 Demand Estimate Letter to FCC [Word document: 27kb] and the FY5 Demand Estimate Breakdown [Excel file: 63kb].