GENERAL
The E-Rate program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC.)This fund provides:

Discounts to assist schools and libraries in the US to obtain affordable telecommunications and internet access.

SharpSchool qualifies as a NTP (non traditional provider) of services under this program and is able to provide discounted prices to its customers for obtaining SharpSchool software.

E-RATE ELIGIBILITY
To see whether your school or library is eligible for E-Rate, Click here to be redirected to the USAC page which lists eligibility requirements.  The following matrix shows how schools and libraries can benefit from the E-rate program:

HOW TO APPLY FOR E-RATE FUNDING
Three forms are to be filed during the year that will enable an organization to take advantage of e rate funding.

1. Form 470: (July to January)
This form asks schools to submit their description of services required. This form needs to be posted on the USAC website for 28 days before a firm executes a contract with SharpSchool. This means that your institution opens the bidding of services to other organizations. After 28 days, USAC then issues a Form 470 Receipt Notification Letter to the applicant when the form 470 has been approved. Below is an example of what a part of the 470 form would look like. In the instance that you would use SharpSchool under service or function you would have to put the details as shown in the diagram.



2. Form 471: (December to Mid February)
The contract that is signed between your school or library and SharpSchool should have a clause that nullifies the agreement if the E-Rate funding does not come through for some reason. At this step, first an agreement should be signed between you and SharpSchool. Then, a form 471 is filed which details all the work that needs to be done and who will carry out the work. Below is a part of the form 471 and what it would look like if you would choose SharpSchool for your services. Please note, our SPIN # is 143031119.

3. Form 486 (July Onwards)
Once the services offered by SharpSchool have started, the disbursement of funds can start.
For this to take place your school or library need to fill out Form 486. This form, along with the previous three are available on the USAC website.

NEED HELP?
As mentioned earlier, the E-Rate program is carried out by the USAC program. The website for this program is http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/. This website has the complete details on how your school or library can fill out forms to attain E-Rate funding.

At any step of the process the SharpSchool team is available to answer all of your questions and direct your concerns to the appropriate people. Please Click here to contact SharpSchool representatives about your questions about E-Rate funding.