| ERATE INFORMATION (HOW TO....) | ||
| Important Forms
471 - Identifies your selected vendor(s) FCDL - Funding Commitment Decision Letter, did you get funding? 486 - Service has started, be sure to complete this form ASAP. ----------------------------------------- Important notes: If you filed for ANYTHING besides the most BASIC TELEPHONE SERVICE, everything you ask for on your form 470 needs to be justified by your Technology Plan first. The Technology Pan needs to be written before you file your form 470, and needs to be approved before you start to receive services. ----------- Not all web hosting is eligible for funding. Be VERY WEARY of companies selling web-based Student Information Systems. These are NOT ELIGIBLE under SLD rules, and are being denied funding on a regular basis!
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"Web Hosting provides a school or library website at an external location outside of the school's or library's premises. A cost effective web hosting service is eligible. Such a service is often included in the cost of basic conduit access to the Internet or, if cost-effective, may be provided at separate cost. Domain name registration necessary for the creation of a school or library website is eligible for discount. Funding is limited strictly to the eligible web hosting function. Some web hosting services may include substantial ineligible features, such as software applications and content editing features. Funding will not be provided for such features. Any cost allocation must be based on tangible information that provides a reasonable and appropriate delineation between the eligible and ineligible components." GigaKOM includes a SiteBuilder application within our hosting service, but this is included as part of our standard package. Our hosting cost for this feature is $0.50/month per account for our web hosting bundles. As an example of how this charge may affect your E-RATE application, in our $50.08 per month 30 website bundle, the ineligible portion is a TOTAL of $0.50. The remainder of our services are fully eligible under Internet Access. Be VERY careful when being told to simply list "Web Hosting" on your form 470 by vendors that offer complex, pre-built websites. These companies do not always get funded. If "Web Hosting" is denied and is 30% or more of your Internet Access request, your entire request will not be funded. Remeber that in order to receive funds, Schools and districts are required to follow the ERATE guidelines regarding competitive bidding and cost-effective service selection. GigaKOM provides the following information to assist you with the correct selection of email and web hosting. We will not, like some vendors, suggest that you write your 470 or RFP specificly to our services; that is just ethically wrong. We do suggest that you follow your school or District Technology Plan, and request ALIGNED services. NOTE: These suggestions are not intended to shortcut the competitive bidding process. Your school or District CANNOT select a vendor (even us!) without following the federally mandated FCC and SLD program requirements! Please refer to the SLD web site (http://www.sl.universalservice.org) for complete details. Basic 470 Procedure After you have verified that your request for email and web hosting services are in alignment with your technology plan, be sure to place the request in the correct area of the Form 470. Email and Web hosting services should be listed in Block 9, Internet Access. If your school or district will (or might) be issuing an RFP for Internet Access services, be sure to indicate this by checking 9A; if not; check 9B. Under Service or Function, simply include the terms EMAIL and/or Web Hosting. Be sure to indicate the number of sites/users/mailboxes in the quantity columns. Simply stating "whole District" may lead to funding denials. Collect and Assess Once your form 470 is posted, you must wait at least 28 days before you sign any contracts for services requested. If you are issuing an RFP, you need to wait at least 28 days from the issue date of the RFP, which may be later than the 470 issue date. If you would like to use GigaKOM services, NOW is the time to contact us. We will provide you with a quote within 24 hours. We cannot, however, sign any contracts with your school or District for ERATE services until the end of the 28 day window. During the 28 day waiting time, you must accept and assess all bids from all service providers that reply to your form 470. In some cases, GigaKOM might come out ahead, in some cases, another provider will. Be sure to follow your established selection criteria; the SLD will want to see your notes, vendor proposals, and selection criteria during a Selective Review. Select and File When you have selected your vendor and signed a contract with them, it is time to fill out and file your form 471. This form is your actual funding request, identifying the selected vendors and your requested dollar amount. The form needs to be submitted to the SLD during a very specific filing window, which as of November 12, 2005, has not yet been determined. Check the SLD website at http://www.sl.universalservice.org for more information. File as early in the window as practical, but don't file late. Waiting.... When you have been notified of your funding, simply contact the vendor (maybe it will be us!) and get the service started! Don't forget to send in that form 486 you will receive in the mail! If your funding has been denied and you feel that it should not have been, you need to file an appeal IMMEDIATELY. Don't wait for 30 days, do it NOW.
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