October 28 marks two important deadlines for some E-rate applicants.
Applicants who received Funding Year 2002 funding commitment decision letters before July 1, 2002 and who started receiving telecommunications or Internet access services on that date must file their Form 486 application by October 28 to meet the Schools and Libraries Division new 120-day deadline. (Because internal connections recipients for the 2002 funding year could not have received approval until at least early October, they will be subject to a different deadline.)
In addition, all Service Provider Invoices or BEAR forms associated with Funding Year 2001 recurring services that were supplied through June 30, 2002 must be postmarked by October 28. If an applicant only recently filed a Form 486 application for these services, the invoicing paperwork will be due within 120 days of the date of the letter acknowledging the approval of the Form 486.
The SLD does have a procedure for requesting a waiver of the invoicing deadline. It can be reviewed at http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/InvoicingDeadlines.asp. The deadline for filing a Form 486 cannot currently be waived. It must be filed within 120 days of the date of the funding commitment decision letter or the service start date, whichever is later.
