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Whether you represent a higher education institution seeking
solutions to enable the expansion of your educational reach
and new ways of teaching and collaborating, or you are associated
with K-12 and looking to get the most from your existing
networks and funding, you need solutions specifically designed
for the Education Industry.
GVCwinstar has extensive
experience working within the Education Industry to address
concerns of:
- Increasing student populations
- Better communications and more efficient delivery systems
among parents, teachers, students and administration
- Making the most of existing networks while adopting
new technologies.
Our knowledgeable account teams, extensive support resources
and reliable and resilient solutions are all part of our
commitment to education.
| Helping to Build Stronger School-Parent
Communities |
| As a provider of affordable and
innovative telecommunications technologies, GVCwinstar's
participation in the Federal schools and libraries E-rate
program facilitates our partnership with educators in
building the school-parent community. The E-rate program
has been helping schools and libraries obtain telecommunications
technologies and Internet services since 1998. |
| Customized K-12 Education Solutions |
| Universal access to quality education
for student achievement is a priority for educators
and parents. GVCwinstar is committed to supporting quality
education, and offers a wealth of technological solutions
and customized programs that are designed to enhance
the K-12 student learning experience. GVCwinstar's technology
solutions are scalable and flexible, to support schools
as their needs grow and change. |
| Delivering Solutions that Make
the Grade |
| GVCwinstar's account teams work
with schools to develop customized communications solutions,
taking the confusion out of technology. GVCwinstar can
address educators' particular requirements for designing
and implementing network and technology solutions. And,
your GVCwinstar business team is aware of geographic
and financial barriers that schools encounter.
GVCwinstar is at the forefront in working with education
communities. GVCwinstar's commitment to educators,
parents and students is to ensure the design and implementation
of multifunctional, sustainable and economical network
models in order to prepare today's students to be
productive, employable citizens in tomorrow's workplace.
These network models should be interactive and use
high-speed, high-capacity products and services that
will allow educators to guide the learning process
by incorporating video, information and education
services.
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| Federal E-rate Program |
| Receive federal funding of 20%
- 90% for the cost of eligible telecommunications services
for your students. |
| What is E-rate? |
| E-rate is a formal, federal program
administered by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD)
under the FCC. The E-rate program is funded at $2.25B
annually, and provides eligible schools and libraries
funding in three categories of service: Telecommunications
Services, Internet Access and Internal Connections.
With E-rate, your institution may be eligible to receive
between a 20%-90% discount on the cost of these services
from participating eligible service providers. Your
school or library can then apply those E-rate savings
towards other education objectives such as computer
purchases, software and staff training. GVCwinstar is
able to offer solutions in all three funding categories. |
| How Does E-rate Work? |
| School and library applicants
must apply annually for E-rate discounts in accordance
with the rules of the program. These discounts are typically
calculated based on the number of students eligible
for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) within
the school or school district and the school's designation
as urban or rural.
The Schools and Libraries Division reviews applications
and makes funding commitments to eligible schools
and libraries based upon their use of 'eligible products
and services by eligible entities at eligible locations
for eligible purposes.' Full program rules and description,
as well as all forms and a listing of E-rate eligible
products and services can be found on the SLD
web site.
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E-rate Process Steps for Applicants
| Step 1 - Prepare Technology Plan |
| Applicant prepares a Technology
Plan which must be formally approved. |
| Step 2 -File FCC Form 470 "Description
of Services Requested and Certification" |
| Applicant files this form, usually
electronically, listing services requested and bidding
and contact information. Form 470 is posted to SLD web
site in order for the school to receive and review competitive
bids. The SLD has a link for on-line filing. |
| Step 3 - Receive bids during 28-day
competitive bidding period |
| The Form 470 must be posted to
the SLD web site for a minimum of 28 days to allow all
interested service providers to bid on the applicant's
Form 470 and /or detailed RFP. The SLD sends the applicant
a Form 470 Receipt Acknowledgement Letter that advises
the applicant of the Allowable Contract Date. The applicant
should not sign any contracts prior to the Allowable
Contract Date or they will have jeopardized approval
to receive E-rate funding. |
| Step 4 -File Form 471 "Service
Ordered and Certification" |
| Applicant files this form with
SLD during a specified filing "window" each
funding year, generally early November to early February.
The applicant uses the Form 471 to identify the products/services
and service provider they have selected based upon bids
received to their Form 470 posting. The applicant also
specifies the E-rate funding they are requesting for
the products/service/pricing selected. |
| Step 5 - Receive Receipt Acknowledgement
Letter (RAL) from SLD |
| Applicant and selected service
providers receive a Form 471 confirmation letter from
the SLD. This is the applicant's opportunity to verify
the accuracy of the information and make any necessary
corrections within the required timeframe. |
| Step 6 - Await SLD's review of
Form 471 |
| SLD processes the Form 471. SLD
may contact the applicant if there is a problem with
data entry of the forms or to verify the eligibility
of the services. |
| Step 7 - Receive Funding Commitment
Decision Letter (FCDL) |
| SLD approves/denies Form 471
funding request via a FCDL. Requests are assigned a
Funding Request Number (FRN) and funded $$ amount. SLD
sends the FCDL notification to the applicant and affected
service provider(s). |
| Step 8 - File Form 486 "Receipt
of Service Confirmation Form" |
| The Applicant files this form
with the SLD to confirm delivery of services from their
service provider and also to certify compliance with
the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) as required
by law. |
| Step 9 - Receive E-rate discounts
or reimbursements from the Service Provider |
| SLD notifies the affected service
provider when it approves an applicant's Form 486. At
this point GVCwinstar will begin providing E-rate billing
discounts or signing Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement
(Form 472) forms. |
All forms and complete instructions are located on the
SLD
web site
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