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Wisconsin E-rate InformationFebruary 2, 2012 
CONTENTS
Note: More recent information below may supersede older information. January - February 2012 updates State (DOA) phone contracts update The state Department of Administration (DOA) has contracts for long distance and local phone service that can be used for the 2012 E-rate year.The current Department of Administration (DOA) statewide contract for wireless (cell) voice and data services expires on June 30, 2012. DOA is rebidding the contract and is projecting a target date of May to get a new contracted signed. Obvously, this is well after the E-rate Form 471 deadline of March 20. To ensure that schools and libraries continue to get E-rate discounts on their cell services past June 30, DPI recommends you undertake one of the options outlined on the State Contract For Wireless (Cell) Voice And Data Services website. Enrollment and lunch data available The window to file the 471 opened on January 9. To assist applicants in filing their 471s, the DPI has posted the final version of the Excel file of: In relation to this file, please note the following:
DOA phone contracts Information on the state phone contracts will be posted the week of January 23. November and December 2011 updates Pending 2011 Funding (Dec 20) We've received a number of emails over the past week from applicants who still have pending 2011 applications. On a recent conference call the SLD indicated that unspecified “issues” had caused a delay in approving applications. These issues have now been resolved and hopefully we will see an increase in funding commitments. Below is the status of the 2011 Priority 1 funding requests as of December 20.
The 632 still pending are from 154 applicants. The status of pending requests can be found on the SLD site at http://www.sl.universalservice.org/FY3_form471/471StatusCheck.asp . You'll need your BEN to do a search. Even if a request is still pending, you can go forward and file any 470s for 2012. But if you'd rather wait to know the outcome of your 2011 requests before you file for 2012, then wait until closer to the 470 deadline in February with hope that you will know the outcome of any pending requests by then. 2012 Lunch and Enrollment Data As of December 20 we were waiting for two districts to still file their final free/reduced lunch data and enrollment data with DPI. This should be done in another day or two. Our intent is to send out a file next week for review and to post out a final version by the January 9 opening of the 471 filing window. DPI E-rate Webinar The archive of the November 29 E-rate webinar is at the site immediately below, including other directions. To view the archive, do the following:
The E-rate webinar PowerPoint slides are also available for download. Bandwidth Options To help applicants determine what broadband option(s) is best for them, see the DPI paper Bandwidth Options and the 2012 E-rate Application Cycle
March 2011 updates E-rate and Bandwidth on the BadgerNet Converged Network (BCN) On March 16 DPI sent out an email on E-rate, bandwidth increases and the BCN contract. As a follow-up to that, we have also developed a short FAQ on this subject. 471 Deadline Just a reminder that the 471 deadline is 10:59 p.m. CDT on Thursday, March 24, 2011. Check the last several weekly SLD News Briefs for 471 tips and updates. Information on long distance and local phone service The Department of Administration (DOA) has contracts for local (Centrex too) and long distance phone service. Some of these contracts are valid through the 2011 E-rate year, but some expire before then. For the expiring contracts DOA will not likely have replacement contracts signed by the March 24, 2011, Form 471 deadline. Because of this, DPI has worked directly with the providers who have expiring contracts to help make sure their phone services are available to schools and libraries for the 2011 E-rate year. For more details, see the page on Filing for Long Distance and Local Phone Service for 2011. February 2011 updates The window to file the 471 opened on January 11. To assist applicants in filing their 471s, the DPI has posted the final version of the Excel file of: In relation to this file, please note the following:
December 2010 updates FCC/SLD updates On a conference call last week the SLD again confirmed (see Nov. update below) that the revised forms 470/471 will be available no later than January 11. The FCC is also working to address many questions still pending on eligibility of dark/lit fiber, warranties, etc., as a result of its Sixth Report and Order. State cell contract and lunch data update DPI has updated information on using the state Department of Administration's cell contract for E-rate. Updates on the state contract for Centrex service and long distance service will be provided later this month. DPI plans to post out the fall 2010 lunch and enrollment data by the end of the month or first week in January. November 2010 updates On November 22 the FCC announced that the revised Forms 470 and 471 have been approved by the federal Office of Management and Budget. The FCC announcement notes that the revised forms will be available no later than January 11. This may be an indication of the approximate date when the Form 471 filing window will open. At this time the new forms are for informational purposes only and they should not be used until the SLD makes an official announcement that it will accept the new forms. The current version of the Form 470 will be accepted by the SLD until the new version is officially released. The November 19 DPI E-rate webinar is archived and available for viewing. This includes the PowerPoint slides that are also available for downloading. July 2010 updates DPI files comments to FCC on E-rate reform On July 9 DPI filed comments with the FCC in response to the FCC's May 20 notice seeking input on reforming the E-rate program. The full comments from the DPI are on the FCC website. Below are key points in the DPI filing
FCC Order addresses late filings of 471 forms On July 8 the FCC released an Order addressing 257 appeals from applicants seeking waivers of the Form 471 application filing window deadline for various funding years. Nine appeals filed by Wisconsin schools and libraries were granted as part of this decision. May 2010 updates 2010 Wave 1 funding is announced On May 26 the SLD released the first 2010 funding commitment decision letters (FCDLs). This first wave includes over 18,200 letters committing more than $429 million. This represents over 40% of all applications that were received by the filing deadline. For Wisconsin, $8.42 million is funded in wave one. This represents 827 funding requests from 250 schools and libraries. DPI has posted an Excel file of the Wisconsin schools and libraries in 2010 Wave 1 funding. — FCC releases major rulemaking on the E-rate program In March the FCC released its National Broadband Plan which recommended major changes to the E-rate program. As a follow-up, on May 20 the Commission released a rulemaking notice seeking comments on various changes to the program. See the FCC press release and the full FCC Rulemaking Notice for more details. Also, E-rate Central has a good summary of the proposed changes. DPI plans to submit comments in late June. March 2010 updates BadgerNet fiber grant and ISP costs This information pertains to schools on BadgerNet (BCN) and requests for 2010 discounts on Internet services. If your ISP cost will increase because of the added BCN bandwidth (to 100Mbps) and you did not include the increase on your 471, you can still request an increase on your 471 Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (RAL). If this issue pertains to you, please read on. (We also covered this issue in several previous emails to the WI E-rate list.) January 12, 13.) Background: The DOA BadgerNet fiber grant will benefit the 467 sites getting fiber and the 360 other schools on BadgerNet that already have fiber and get a TEACH discount. As you know, these schools will get 100Mbps for $250/month. The increased BCN bandwidth will very likely increase your Internet costs. Many ISPs factor in their cost for bandwidth, which is then included in what they charge a school/library. (WiscNet does not determine costs based on bandwidth.) Some sites will also need a new router to accommodate 100Mbps. If needed, contact your ISP on this issue. Action: If your ISP costs will increase and your E-rate funding request did not include the increase you can request the added cost by making changes on p. 5, #23 on your RAL. The RAL includes instructions for doing this and more info is in the March 5 News Brief. Changes should be made within 20 days of the RAL date. Other New federal law (Oct. 2009) The President signed the Broadband Data Improvement Act (PL 110-385) on October 10. Title II of this act, “Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act,” is designed to promote Internet use “in a manner that promotes safe online activity for children, protects children from cybercrimes, including crimes by online predators.” The legislation adds an additional requirement to the CIPA Internet Safety Policy that each district must have to receive Internet access or internal connection discounts. The added language says that as part of the Internet safety policy the school is "educating minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response.” The FCC will be providing guidance on the impact of this on the 2011 E-rate funding year. Common reasons for E-rate denials DPI staff have compiled a list of the Common Reasons for E-rate Funding Denials. This list is based on Wisconsin applications from 2004 through 2006. In this three-year period, 8.3% of all funding requests were denied. See the listing of denials for more detailed explanations on why applications are denied. The five most common reasons are listed below.
State Agency Resource Staff Please contact the following staff if you have questions. K-12 public school E-rate questions and public school technology plans: Stephen Sanders Library E-rate questions and public library and library system technology plans: Bob Bocher E-rate and private school technology plans: Nan Linde
Bob Bocher, Technology Consultant
Last updated on 2/6/2012 11:28:07 AM |
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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers
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