ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 7, Number 156 December 17, 1998 In this issue: SLC Extends 1999-2000 Application Window to 100 Days and Announces 1998 Internal Connections Funding "Threshold" Note: The following is a December 16 E-rate Newsflash from the Schools and Libraries Corporation. The Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) is pleased to announce several important developments that should help E-rate applicants in their planning for the 1998 and 1999-2000 funding years. ***1999-2000 APPLICATION WINDOW SET AT 100 DAYS To accommodate 1998 E-rate applicants awaiting their Funding Commitment Decisions Letters, as well as those new applicants who may need a little more time for planning, the SLC has extended the window for E-rate applications for 1999-2000 to 100 days. The window, which opened on December 1, 1998, will now close on March 11, 1999, at 11:59 p.m. ET. All complete applications received by SLC within the window will be considered as if they had arrived on the same day. Outside the window, applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis. To be considered as having applied "in the window," an applicant must first file Form 470, wait 28 days while its Form 470 is posted for bidding (for new services) or held (for pre-existing contracts), and then file Form 471 so it is received by SLC before the window closes. ***50% DISCOUNT THRESHOLD IDENTIFIED FOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS FUNDING Applicants have expressed a strong desire for clarity on how far 1998 E-rate funds are likely to reach when it comes to in-the- window internal connections requests below the 90% discount level. The SLC now has enough information about the total volume of E- rate discount requests to be certain that it will be unable to make funding commitments on discount requests for internal connections with approved discount percentages of less than 50%. IMPORTANT NOTE: This does NOT mean any guarantee of funding for internal connections requests at approved discount percentages of 50%-89%. (Approved internal connections requests at the 90% discount level are already a priority for funding.) See below for more details on SLC's handling of internal connections requests at 50-89% discount levels. In future waves of funding commitment letters (see Funding Commitment Waves Schedule information, below), the SLC will report the unavailability of funding for Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) for internal connections at discount percentages of less than 50%. In addition, SLC will continue to process commitments for internal connections at approved discounts of 90%. Regarding internal connections requests at approved discount levels of 50%-89%: At this time, there is still too much uncertainty to estimate reliably in advance how far available funds will reach for internal connections requests with approved discounts from 89% down to 50%. As these uncertainties are resolved, we will inform the applicant and service provider communities of any adjustment of the funding threshold for internal connections. ***1998 FUNDING COMMITMENT WAVES SCHEDULE FIRMED UP Wave 3 of the Funding Commitment Decisions Letters is expected to be issued no later than December 21. It will be followed by three or more additional waves after the Christmas holiday into January. (For more information about the waves themselves, see "20 Questions [and Answers] About the Waves," available at the SLC Web site, , or via fax-on-demand, 800/959-0733, document #208.) We will announce the launch of each wave through a notice on our Web site and via newsflash, and will post on the Web site the list of recipients by state once each wave has been released. Applicants who will be away from their offices during the holidays may want to make arrangements to check the Web site and their mail during this time period. (Note: The five-business-day turnaround for Form 486 does not count school or library vacation days as business days.) ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff. Editor: Lynne E. 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