Boosting Your Business Opportunity

By Author: Dan Burns
Total Articles: 1
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Boosting your Business Opportunity
with eRate Services

ERate is a vital piece used by schools today to meet their budget demands for
technology. ERate is a federally funded process that must be requested by
application annually.

Just like filing for your income tax each year, some do the simple form, while
others seek the services of professionals that can help them qualify for funding
either they were not aware of or have not been successful in receiving.

By making eRate application services part of your repertoire, you can either
open new doors or expand your opportunity of multiple services for existing
clients.

To often this process is either done by an outside entity who knows nothing
about telephony or illegally by a vendor hoping to bind the sale of service.

NOTE:
After we have covered the basics of eRate, Dr. Jim Earle our top eRate
specialist will answer your questions.

Overview
1.1. General History of eRate?
2.2. Who Qualifies for eRate Funding?
3.3. eRate Funding Process ...
...
4.4. Who Traditionally Files eRate applications for Schools and Libraries?
5.5. Time Line for eRate Filing
6.6. What Things Do I Need to Know about a School District?
7.7. Bidding Process for Services
8.8. What Must a Vendor/Service Provider do to be Eligible to bid and/or be awarded an eRate funded project?
9.9. What Basic Step and Forms are necessary for Processing an eRate Funding Application?
10.10. Q&A

Presented by: Corporate Telecom Inc.
Dan Burns
Principle Consultant, CEO
Contact info:

866-858-1100
danb@corptele.com
Dr. James Earle
eRate & Grant Specialist
Contact Info:

866-858-2202
jime@corptele.com
1. General History of eRate
Telecommunications Act of 1996
Congress directed the FCC to establish competitively neutral rules . . . to enhance, to the extent technically feasible and economically reasonable, access to advance telecommunications and information services for all public and non-profit elementary and secondary school classrooms . . . and libraries.
Process established:
.Provides discounts to eligible schools and libraries for Telecommunications Services, Internet Access, and Internal Connections
.Applicants can be schools, libraries, or consortia, but only eligible recipients of services can receive discounts
.Applicants must apply for discounts each year
.Disbursements are capped at $2.25 billion annually

This responsibility is contracted by the Universal Services Administrative Company who's SLD (Schools and Libraries Division), oversees eRate distribution process.
Website: http://sl.universalservice.org/

2. Who Qualifies for eRate Funding?
.K-12 Public Schools
.K-12 Private Schools
.Libraries
.Preschool or Head start programs (consult each state)

Must meet the statutory definition of elementary or secondary school found in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
a.oMust be a non-profit institutional day or residential school, including a public charter school, that provides elementary or secondary education, as determined under state law
b.oMust not be operating as a for-profit business
c.oMust not have an endowment exceeding $50 million
d.oPre-kindergarten, Adult Education, Juvenile Justice

Must meet state definition of elementary or secondary education

3. eRate Funding Process
Eligible Services
a.oEligible Services are broken down into two different groups. Funding for all Priority 1 filings are considered and funded prior to funding considered for Priority 2.
b.oAfter funding is completed for Priority 2 applications the SLD begins with the highest percentage level of Priority 2 (90%) applications.
c.oPriority 1 funded first, then Priority 2 funded beginning with neediest applicants (90%, 89%, 88%, etc.)


Priority 1
a.oTelecommunications Services local and long distance (POTs, Trunks, T1) wire line and wireless Pagers Cellular Phones
b.oData, Video and Internet Services
WAN
LAN
T1



Priority 2
a.oInternal Connections
Data switches, hubs, routers, wiring
Telephone switches
Cabling

b.oServices which are conditionally eligible


Exceptions
ERate funding does not apply to end-user equipment.
a.oTelephone handsets
b.oComputers (desktop or notebook)
c.oEtc.

4. Who Traditionally Files eRate applications for a School or Library?
. Internal Staff: IT or Finance Department
.Independent School Service Entities
.Telephone Service Providers/Vendors
.Consultants



5. Time Lines for eRate Filing
.The eRate fiscal year is July 1 - June 30
.Initial filing (Form 470) must be posted on the SLD website for 28 days prior to the close of the funding window
.Second Stage (Form 471) must be completed generally by the 1st week in February

6. What Things Do I Need to Know about a School District?
A. Free & Reduced school lunch program percentages for the district? Contact the State Board of Education and they should supply you with information about;
. Total Students
. Free enrollment
. Reduced enrollment
. Percentage of free and reduced lunches
. For both District Totals
. By Building

B. What is the Matrix level for this district?
http://sl.universalservice.org/reference/dmatrix.asp
INCOME URBAN LOCATION RURAL LOCATION
Measured by % of
students eligible for the National School Discount Discount
Lunch Program
If the % of students in and you are in an and you are in a
your school that URBAN area, your RURAL area, your
qualifies for the discount will be discount will be
National School Lunch
Program is
Less than 1% 20% 25%
1% to 19% 40% 50%
20% to 34% 50% 60%
35% to 49% 60% 70%
50% to 74% 80% 80%
75% to 100% 90% 90%

*School District MUST show in their budget that they can pay their percentage of the project/services.
C. Do they have an approved Technology Plan?
.When is a tech plan needed?
.oFor any funding requests accept local and long distance services.
.How long is a tech plan good?
a.oA tech plan can be established for 1-5 years
b.oAdditions can be made to existing plans
c.oLater Jim will explain the strengths and weakness to a multi-year compared to a single year plan.
.Besides writing a tech plan, what other steps must be done for SLD to accept it?
.oMust be approved by an SLD-certified approver before Form 486 filing or start of services
.The five areas the plan must cover:
a.oGoals / Strategies for using technology
b.oProfessional development
c.oNeeds assessment
d.oSufficient budget for the schools obligation
e.oEvaluation process
.Points to Remember:
a.oTech Plan must establish the connections between the technology and specific curriculum reforms or library service improvements
b.oTech Plan should provide evidence of securing the resources needed to make effective use of the discounted services
c.oTech Plan should include an evaluation process to monitor progress toward established goals
d.oTech Plan Approver listed on Form 486 must be SLD certified.


7. Bidding Process for Services
As services/equipment are considered, the SLD states that the process of elimination should follow guidelines that will encourage competition between the bidders to establish best value through an open bidding process.
All e-Rateable items are to be posted in a competitive bidding process. This does not mean that the entity must go with lowest bid price (consult state board of Education).
It is up to the entity to decide whose product is of their best value. It is vital that all posted RFPs establish specifics to clarify parameters that are mandatory and process followed for determining these factors. This is for clarification of any bidders and for the protection of the entity.
.Request for Proposal (RFP)
a.oOn all services/equipment that funding is requested for, these services/equipment must be posted for bid for a minimum of 28-days according to SLD.
b.oDescribes your project scope, location, other requirements in detail
c.oTraditionally this RFP is posted on a website so that any interested vendor/service provider will have equal opportunity to bid on services or the project.
d.oSLD list all mandatory information that must be included for the RFP process.
.Competition Oriented
a.oGoal is to have as many bidders as possible
b.oPromotes better service and lower prices
.Fair and open process
a.oAll bidders treated the same, no advance knowledge of RFP information
b.oNo secrets in the process, all bidders know what is required of them


8. What must a vendor/service provider do to be eligible to bid and/or be awarded an eRate funding project?
A vendor/service provider must apply and receive a SPIN
1.1. File Form 498 with SLD.
2.2. Request a Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN)
3.3. Provide/update contact information

9. What Basic Steps and Forms are necessary for Processing an eRate Funding Application?
Forms page: http://www.sl.universalservice.org/menu.asp
.Form 470
.This stage is a general overview of what type of services you are requesting funding applied to.
.This is general information including number of lines, cell phones, size of internet access, etc.
.Opens a competitive bidding process
.Applicant responsible for ensuring an open, fair process and selecting the most cost-effective provider of the desired services
.Must wait 28 days after POSTING of Form 470 to select service provider, sign contract/agreement, and sign and submit Form 471
.Service providers who will participate in the bidding process cannot complete Form 470
.Can be filed once for multi-year contracts, but 470 and RFP must indicate intent to sign multi-year contract
.Make RFP available or list specific service/function and quantity/capacity
.Form 471
.i.This form informs SLD of who the school has awarded the service/project to and the amount of cost.
.ii.This will also include the vendor(s) SPIN number(s).
.iii.Provides specific information on services, service providers selected, and contracts and/or agreements
.iv.Provides discount calculation information
.v.Must be filed for each funding year
.vi.Applicant certifies compliance with rules, which include securing access to resources to make effective use of discounts
.vii.Must be postmarked on or before the last day of the Form 471 application filing window
.Form 486 and or 472
.i.After receiving the Funding Commitment Decision letter for SLD, additional forms can establish that funding is sent directly to the vendor/service provider so the school does not need to go through the additional process of sending and confirming that the funds are sent to the vendor/service provider.
.ii.This also removes concerns of fraudulent actions by the school district.
.iii.Notification that services have started and the SLD can pay invoices
.iv.Certifies that Tech Plan (if required) has been approved
.v.BEAR (Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement) Form 472 filed by the applicant and certified by the service provider after the applicant receives services and pays for the services in full
.Audits and other assistance of forms and filing for both the vendor/service provider and SLD staff.

Other items that may be discussed:
Recent fraud has complicated to process.
How can offering eRate services help my business opportunities?

10. Q&A


www.corptele.com
About the Author Dan Burns, Principal Consultant

Mr. Burns is a telecommunications professional with over ten years comprehensive experience in the telecommunications expense reduction and management, telecommunications system hardware design, implementation, project management. Mr. Burns is recognized as a reliable leader in this field as an active member of the Society of Telecommunications Consultants (STC).