A key to E-rate success is proper planning of your funding applications. This category provides you with information to equip you for success.
The four E-rate eligible services categories are divided into what the FCC calls “Priority 1” and “Priority 2” services (“P1” and “P2”). USAC approves funding for P1 services (Telecommunications and Internet Access) first. Afterwards, if there is money remaining in the queue, USAC will begin issuing funding commitments for discounts on P2 (internal connections and basic maintenance) requests.
The following table is used when calculating the discount rate of an individual site within an applicant organization:
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INCOME
Measured by % of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program
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URBAN LOCATION
Discount
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There are two numbers that come into play when evaluating whether the non-recurring charges associated with the installation of a service must be amortized. The numbers are 67% and $500,000.
Once an applicant has posted a Form 470 and has selected a service provider per all the relevant FCC, state and local procurement regulations, applicants need to submit the Form 471. Each year the SLD will open up a Form 471 filing window where applicants tell the SLD how much money they need, who their service providers are and what their discount rate is.
The Form 471 Wizard in E-rate Manager for Applicants can help you navigate the process of preparing and filing your Form 471 applications for funding. Rather than relying on spreadsheets and sticky notes, let E-rate Manager for Applicant’s Form 471 Wizard track your application information for you!
One of the first and most influential steps to determine the amount of funding an applicant may receive is a calculation of the applicant’s site specific and shared discount rates. There are a few directions from which to approach this process, and it is crucial for applicants to understand how they may calculate their discounts in an appropriate and acceptable manner in order to obtain the most accurate funding rates. Inaccurate calculations that result in reporting a funding rate even one percent too low can cost applicants thousands of dollars.
What are they?
Each Form 471 Block 5 Discount Funding Request must include a description of the products or services for which the applicant is seeking discounts. USAC refers to this description as the “Item 21 Attachment”. Item 21 on Block 5 of the Form 471 application is where you provide an attachment number for the description.
