USAC’s Schools and Libraries Division hosts monthly service provider conference calls, providing information and guidance for vendors participating in the E-rate program. Highlights from March 6, 2013 service provider call include:
February 2013 Commitments
FY 2013 Form 471 Window Open
The Funding Year 2013 Form 471 filing window is now open and will continue through 11:59 EST on Thursday, March 14, 2013. The filing window will be open for 93 days. Thursday, February 14, 2013 was the last date on which a Form 470 could have been filed in time to be referenced on a Funding Year 2013 request.
USAC Service Provider Trainings
USAC will hold two Service Provider trainings in May. USAC is requesting service providers send John Noran (jnoran@usac.org) an email with suggestions about topics that should be covered during these training sessions.
Invoicing Update
Payments for the month of February totaled $161 million against $224.2 million in requests. Invoices were submitted by 1,543 service providers, and 98% were processed within 30 days. The top invoice denial reasons for the month include:
Duplicate invoicing
Invalid FRN and Form 471 Combination
486 Not Processed
Billed outside of funding year
Q&A
A question arose about the eligibility of distance learning components. The Eligible Services List states that “the telecommunications component of voice or video conferencing services that provide a means for multiple users to participate in group discussions may be eligible if the services are limited only to eligible educational or library purposes.” USAC noted that while circuits used to access conferencing services can be eligible, CODECs and other video equipment do not meet the requirements for funding in the Priority 1 funding categories.
Note: The information above is not the official minutes from the call, but simply notes from Funds For Learning. The official minutes for this call, as well as call minutes from previous months, can be found here.
