Become Familiar with Program Terminology Basic Terms E-rate: a common name for the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) for the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Universal Service Fund: a source that provides discounts to telecommunications carriers for delivering affordable services to various categories of customers, including schools and libraries
Acronyms CSB (Client Service Bureau): E-rate help desk for applicants and service providers; can be reached by calling 1-888-203-8100 PIA (Program Integrity Assurance): SLD’s organization that reviews applications for compliance with FCC rules POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service): descriptor for traditional systems used to place and receive phone calls SLD (Schools and Libraries Division): a department of the Universal Service Administrative Company that is responsible for administering the E-rate program TCSB (Technical Client Service Bureau): SLD’s organization for responding to technical questions about eligible services and program rules USAC (Universal Service Administrative Company): the organization responsible for overseeing the administration of the Universal Service Fund
Applicant Forms Form 470 (Services Requested): the first step in the application process Form 471 (Services Ordered): the second step required in the application process Form 472 (Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement): used by applicants seeking a discount reimbursement for bills paid in full Form 486 (Services Confirmation): the third step required in the application process Form 500 (Adjustment of Funding Commitment and Modification to Services Confirmation): used by applicants to change or cancel a request
Vendor Forms Form 473 (Service Provider Annual Certification): used by participating providers; must be filed annually Form 474 (Service Provider Invoice Form): for invoicing SLD for E-rate-eligible delivered services Form 498 (Service Provider Information Form): information that must be filed after receipt of a Service Provider Identification Number
Letters Form 470 Notification Letter: document sent to applicants informing them of the date their Form 470 was posted to the SLD web site for bidding Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL): notification to an applicant and vendors of the discount level that has been awarded on each funding request Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (RAL): notification sent to applicants and vendors that the SLD has completed entering the information from a Form 471 into its systems
Numbers to Remember Applicant-Created Identifier: a unique number assigned by the applicant on SLD forms Entity Number: a ten-digit number assigned to an applicant to allow tracking of an application status; often called the billed entity number Form 470 Number: a 15-digit number (formerly the Universal Service Form 471 Number: a number (up to ten digits) assigned to each Form 471 that contains data entries; used to track the form’s status at SLD Funding Request Number (FRN): a designation, referenced in the Funding Commitment Decisions Letter, for each item in Block 5 of the Form 471 SPIN: a unique nine-digit number given to service providers after their submission of Form 473; applicants need this number to complete Form 471
E-rate Identity Billed Entity: the organization that pays the bill and writes the check for delivered services Consortium: a group of organizations or institutions that join together to contract and apply for E-rate funds Eligible Entity: a term referring to any school, library or consortium eligible to participate in the E-rate program Service Providers/Vendors: businesses or organizations that sell
Other Related Terms Month-to-Month Contract: Services billed on a monthly basis without a formal, written contract Prediscount Cost: the cost of service before an E-rate discount is applied Shared Services: services delivered to more than one site; discount based on an average or aggregate level Site-Specific Services: services delivered to only one entity, such as a single school Tariffed Service: telephone service (e.g., local and long distance) Weighted Average: the discount amount calculated to reflect information such as the numbers of students in a school district that are eligible for the National Free Lunch Program Window: the time during which all Form 471s are treated as if filed on the same day
For additional information about the E-rate program and for help in applying for E-rate discounts, email education@3com.com. |
