December 2004 Announcements

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

The SLD will conduct a web-based training session for the Item 21 Attachment on Wednesday, January 5, 2005 from 2:00 to 3:30 EST. It will demonstrate a new, prototype system for creating Item 21 Attachments online; and will provide an opportunity for questions and answers. The Item 21 Attachment is a required part of applicant funding requests, and provides a detailed description of the products and services being requested.

Signup for the session is first-come first-serve, and participants must pay their own long-distance charges.

To enroll, please go to the following link on the SLD's WebEx training site.

The Schools and Libraries Client Service Bureau will be closed on Friday, December 24, 2004 in observance of Christmas. The Client Service Bureau will resume normal operations on Monday, December 27, 2004 at 8:00 a.m. EST.

The Schools and Libraries Client Service Bureau will be closed on Friday, December 31, 2004 in observance of New Year’s. The Client Service Bureau will resume normal operations on Monday, January 3, 2005 at 8:00 a.m. EST.

The SLD is releasing a prototype system for applicants to create Item 21 Attachments for Form 471. Applicants will be able to create these on-line on the SLD web site and then print and send them to SLD. At this stage of implementation, data entered to create the attachments will not be retained in SLD's systems. This is an optional method for creating Funding Year 2005 Item 21 Attachments.

The prototype allows applicants to create an Item 21 Attachment for Internal Connections funding requests associated with an electronically filed Form 471. A valid Billed Entity Number (BEN) and an associated Funding Request Number (FRN) are needed for access. The system allows the selection of products included in the Eligible Products Database or manual entry of any Internal Connections product or service.

Enhancements to the prototype are anticipated based on comments received from a built-in e-mail feedback system. Experience gained during the Fund Year 2005 application process will be used to provide further enhancements to the interface.

Go to the prototype online Item 21 Attachment system

This prototype online Item 21 Attachment system has been developed as part of the Eligible Products Database pilot program. Use the link below for further information about the pilot program.

Go to the Eligible Products Database pilot program

USAC can now assist applicants with the process of obtaining FCC Registration Numbers (FCC RNs). Applicants can request these numbers from this web site either one by one or in bulk.

Submitting a request through this web site has two advantages. First, large applicants can submit a delimited file containing all entities for which FCC RNs are being requested, and the numbers will be issued in bulk. Second, the SLD will store these FCC RNs in its database, and applicants who have received their numbers will not need to provide them to Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) during the application review process for Funding Year 2005.

USAC will process requests for FCC RNs in two waves:

• Applicants who submit requests by 11:59 PM on January 15, 2005 will be notified by letter of their FCC RNs by early February.
• Applicants who submit requests by 11:59 PM on February 25, 2005 will be notified by letter of their FCC RNs by mid-March.

Applicants who have not submitted their requests by 11:59 PM on February 25, 2005 will be required to use the CORES Registration Page to obtain their FCC RNs. Please note that the CORES Registration Page does not have a bulk update capability.

To request FCC RNs through this web site or to review the submission instructions for bulk requests, please visit the FCC Registration Number request page.

If you have questions or need more information, please contact the SLD Client Service Bureau at 1-888-203-8100.

Spanish translations of certain E-rate guidance materials are now available through this web site.

• A Spanish-language version of the Program Overview (DESCUENTOS E-RATE PARA ESCUELAS Y BIBLIOTECAS) has been posted to the Reference Area of this web site.
• Six WebEx presentations have been translated and recorded in Spanish. These six presentations are listed by their Spanish titles under Recorded Sessions on the SLD’s WebEx site. If you need more information on WebEx recordings, you can access the SLD’s WebEx Recordings page by following the WebEx Recording link under the Training and Outreach bar on the left side of this website.

Additional WebEx presentations will be made available in Spanish at a later date.

La Guia E-Rate esta Disponible en Espanol

• La version en espanol del Programa Overview (DESCUENTOS E-RATE PARA ESCUELAS Y BIBLIOTECAS) esta anunciado en arias de referencias en este web-site.
• Sies presentaciones de WebEx estan traducidas y grabados en espanol. Estas seis presentaciones estan apuntados por titulos en espanol debajo delas seciones grabados en WebEx site. Si necesita mas informacion acerca de las grabaciones de WebEx, puedes tener acceso en la pagina Grabaciones SLD’s WebEx, siguiendo los pasos de grabaciones WebEx debajo del Entrenamiento y Apollo a la mano isquierda del web-site.

Presentaciones adicionales en Espanol de WebEx estaran diponibles muy pronto.