If you’re planning to bid for internet access or Wide Area Network (WAN) services for next year, the clock is already running. Category One procurement planning needs to start roughly ten months before your next funding year begins, which means the first week back at school is the right moment to start, not the Form 471 filing window. Waiting until the filing window opens puts applicants behind before the process even begins.
Getting ahead of Category One procurement means answering a handful of key questions early, while there’s still time to gather data, loop in stakeholders, and build a competitive bidding process that reflects your needs. Below are the core questions every applicant should be working through now.
Is an RFP Required?
In most cases, E-rate rules don’t require you to issue a formal Request for Proposals (RFP). A Form 470 satisfies the FCC’s competitive bidding requirement on its own. That said, many states and local jurisdictions set their own procurement thresholds, usually tied to contract value, that require a formal RFP once a purchase crosses a certain dollar amount.
Confirm your state and local procurement rules early. Drafting, releasing, and evaluating an RFP takes considerably longer than posting a Form 470 alone. If an RFP is required, it needs to be finalized and ready to attach in your E-rate Productivity Center (EPC) account alongside the Form 470. The two documents must describe the same procurement, so the RFP can’t be an afterthought.
What Bandwidth Is Needed for Internet and WAN Services?
Bandwidth needs should be based on actual usage data, not last year’s contract renewed by default. Pull utilization reports from your network equipment, review peak usage during testing windows or 1:1 device rollouts, and factor in any known growth, new devices, new applications, expanded video or streaming use, or added square footage.
If you’re consistently running near capacity, plan for additional headroom, not just a marginal increase. E-rate contracts often run multiple years, and bandwidth needs rarely shrink. Additionally, use the mindset of potential need for the duration of the contract term. Needs might change in year 4 of the contract. Repeat this exercise separately for internet access and for WAN circuits, since usage patterns and growth drivers for each are often different.
Are Both Internet and WAN Services Needed?
Not every applicant needs to bid both services in the same cycle and bundling them isn’t required. A single-site applicant may only need internet access, while a multi-site district typically needs WAN circuits connecting buildings back to a hub, plus internet access at that hub or at each site.
It’s worth confirming that your current network architecture still matches how the district operates today. A WAN design built for a different site configuration years ago may no longer be the most efficient or cost-effective structure. Deciding definitively whether internet, WAN, or both are in scope shapes how your Form 470 and any RFP get written. Settle this before those documents are drafted.
How Many Years Will the Contract Term Cover?
E-rate allows multi-year contracts of any set length, and choosing the right term is a real trade-off. Longer terms lock in pricing and reduce the administrative burden of running competitive bidding every year, but they can also reduce flexibility if the district’s needs, budget, or site footprint change. Shorter terms keep options open but mean going back through the full procurement cycle more frequently.
Weigh your own growth plans, funding stability, and appetite for administrative overhead when settling a term and decide on this before the Form 470 is posted, since the term needs to be reflected in the bidding documents and any resulting contract.
Are Any Site Expansions Planned?
New construction, boundary changes, co-location agreements, or the addition of any new buildings all affect Category One planning. New sites may need entirely new circuits, additional bandwidth at the hub, or a redesign of the WAN topology altogether.
Circuit installation, especially fiber builds to a brand-new location, can take months of lead time from a service provider. Any known or likely expansion needs to be flagged early and built into your bandwidth and design planning, not addressed after a contract is already signed.
Other Planning Considerations
Beyond the questions above, a few additional items are worth reviewing during the planning phase:
- Current contract expiration and auto-renewal dates, so nothing lapses or auto-renews unintentionally
- Budget and expected E-rate discount rate, since discount percentage affects your true out-of-pocket cost and should inform how bids are evaluated
- Whether a state master contract or cooperative purchasing agreement is available and could satisfy competitive bidding requirements without a standalone RFP
- Vendor availability and lead times in your service area, particularly for new fiber builds or underserved locations
- Internal timeline for board approval, since contract signature typically can’t happen until after board action, and that meeting cycle needs to be mapped against the E-rate filing calendar
See our back-to-school E-rate checklist for the broader start-of-year review beyond Category One.
Starting Early Pays Off
None of these questions are complicated on their own. Answering them well just takes time: pulling usage data, confirming procurement rules, coordinating with facilities on expansion plans, and getting the right people in a room.
Starting this work at the beginning of the school year, rather than when the Form 471 filing window opens, gives you room to build a competitive bidding process that actually reflects your needs, and to avoid a last-minute scramble that leads to rushed decisions or missed deadlines.
Not sure if your Category One timeline is on track? Join the free My E-rate Guides (MEG) webinar on August 6, 2026 for a Form 470 walkthrough and FY2027 planning. Register today!
About the Author: Todd Lawrence has spent the last 15 years helping schools and libraries get the E-rate funding they need to keep students connected. He got into the work in 2010, when Idaho schools were caught in a state network validity dispute and needed someone to help them recover. Outside of E-rate, he is on the trails or with his wife, kids, and grandchildren.
