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E-Rate funding means access, performance
& achievement for all
A little pressure on your IT team right now?
With Frontier, falling behind isn’t an option.
Help teachers teach and learners learn. With a network designed to meet your students where they are—and where they’re going. Frontier’s solutions scale with your needs to stay ahead of connectivity demands.
- Certified reliability: Nearly 180,000 miles of fiber over our MEF 2.0 certified network
- Low latency: Dedicated circuits with speeds up to 100Gb
- High performance: 99.99% SLA
- Budget-friendly billing: Service provider invoicing slashes your out-of-pocket costs
- Serious savings: E-Rate smarts maximize your reimbursement
Let’s get you some funding.
We’ll help you maximize your potential access to over $4 billion in E-Rate federal funding.
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You have questions. We have answers.
Click to learn more about E-Rate, see if you’re eligible and find out how to apply.
Initial qualification:
Determine your eligibility for the funding program.
Determine the services for the eligible locations.
Qualify by contacting the USAC/E-rate Customer Service https://www.usac.org/e-rate. Once qualified the applicant will receive an Entity Number for each location that qualifies.
Request access to EPC (Erate Productivity Portal)
Competitive Bidding:
Once the applicant has received an Entity Number(s) and has gained access to EPC (Erate Productivity Center), they are ready for the competitive bidding process. This is known as the Form 470 or bidding process and is requested through EPC .
This is a formal process to request services that have been identified and prospective service providers can review and submit bid responses accordingly. This process is designed to be fair and open regarding services and pricing. The applicant is required to select the most-cost effective provider based on THEIR bidding evaluation factors. The price carries the highest weight in the evaluation; however, price may NOT be the driving factor for the winning bid.
Points of interest:
- Bids must be posted during the open bidding season
- Applicants must wait 28-days before selecting their service provider on or after the 29-day and signing a contract
- The Form 470 is considered an RFP (Request for Proposal), however actual RFPs or additional documents may be uploaded to the Form 470.
Selecting the Service Provider
After the competitive bidding process closes (on or after the 29-day), a Bid Evaluation with deciding factors should be used to select the winning service provider.
Applying for the Funding
Once the service provider has been selected, applying for the funding is the next step in the process. This is done by completing the Form 471 or Service Provider Selection within EPC .
Requirements in this step:
- Entity Number(s) for the selected locations
- National Center for Education Statistics (NES) and/or Federal-State-Cooperative Systems (FSCS) codes
- Student counts or for libraries, the square footage, and the entity number of the closest public school
- An alternative discount mechanism , when applicable
- Contract for services requested, if newly contracted services.
There are several different application options. Choose the one that works best for your organization.
OPTION 1: Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement Invoicing (BEAR) (FCC FORM 472)
Follow instructions per the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC).
Applicants may file BEAR Forms online for any funding year without the review or approval of Frontier Communications. The following must take place prior to filing for a Form 472 (BEAR) reimbursement:
• The applicant has certified and USAC has successfully processed the FCC Form 486.
• The applicant has certified and USAC has successfully processed the FCC Form 498; for USAC to process direct payments.
• The applicant must have a Personal Identification Number (PIN)
• USAC will pay applicants directly for any funding year that is filled with the BEAR invoicing process.
OPTION 2: Service Provider Invoicing aka Billing Discounts (SPI) (FCC FORM 474)
• Complete the Frontier Form 474 (Data Gathering Form) and email to funding discount team at [email protected].
• Discounts will be applied retroactively, backdated to your July invoice, and will be reflected on your Frontier invoice once the Frontier Form 474 has been received and FCC Form 486 has been certified for each Funding Request Number (FRN).
• Per FCC Order 97-157, the applicant is required to pay the non-discounted portion (amount after E-rate discounts) to your service provider to qualify for the E-rate program, if SPI is chosen.
SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES DIVISION (SLD) RESOURCES
Apply online and find your Service Provider Information Number (SPIN)
SCHOOL CRITERIA
- Must operate as a nonprofit business
- Must provide K-12 education, not college
- Includes Head Start, pre-K, juvenile justice and special ed
- Cannot have grants exceeding $50 million
- Includes support facilities for school use only
- Includes consortia of schools
LIBRARY CRITERIA
- Must operate as a nonprofit business
- Budget must be separate from any school budget
- Includes support facilities for library use only
- Cannot gain assistance from state library agency via Library Services and Technology Act
- Includes consortia of librarie
Category 1: Solutions - Data Transmission and Internet Access
- Dedicated Internet Access— dedicated Internet connection with speeds up to 10 Gbps
- Ethernet services—EVPL, EPL, ELAN
- Frontier Business Fiber— Next level fiber broadband internet for business with speeds up to 2 Gbps
- Frontier Internet for Business—low-cost DSL internet with speeds up to 100 Mbps+
- Managed Services Basic—entry level security including router, featuring stateful firewall, port forwarding and proxy settings, up to 1Gbps
Category 2: Solutions—Managed Internal Connectivity
- Managed Services Advanced—top level internet security including router, featuring everything in Managed Services basic plus remote user VPN, UTM, anti-malware, IPS and web filtering, up to 1 Gbps
- Managed Wi-Fi —fully managed, robust indoor/outdoor wi-fi coverage up to 10k square feet (up to 4 access points)
We’re a provider of choice
Get your E-Rate Toolkit
The E-Rate funding process can be complicated.
Download our toolkit to get started on your path to funding relief. Here’s a preview of what’s included:
- QUICK-REFERENCE GUIDE TO E-RATE FUNDING
- CHECKLIST FOR A SUCCESSFUL E-RATE APPLICATION
- IMPORTANT ELIGIBILITY INFO, STATS AND TIPS
- E-RATE FAQS