7-E-RATE SUPPLEMENTAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS - FY2026.docx

E-RATE SUPPLEMENTAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Signed copy to be returned with proposal and/or bid response (“Proposal’) in response to this Solicitation (“RFP/RFB/RFQ”).

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 established a fund by which Schools and Libraries (“Applicant” or “Applicants”) across the Country could access discounts on eligible telecommunications products and services. The program is commonly known as the E-rate Program. The eligibility for discounts on internet access, telecommunications products and services, internal connection products, services and maintenance is determined by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”). Funding is made available upon application approval by the Universal Service Administrative Company (“USAC”), which was established by the Act. The amount of the discount is based on the numbers of students eligible to receive free and reduced-price meals.

1) E-RATE CONTINGENCY

The project herein [is/may be] contingent upon the approval of funding from the Universal Service Fund’s Schools and Libraries Program, otherwise known as E‐rate. Even after award of Agreement(s) and/or E-rate funding approval is approved, the Applicant may or may not proceed with the project, in whole or in part. Execution of the project, in whole or in part, is solely at the discretion of the Applicant.

2) SERVICE PROVIDER REQUIREMENTS

The Applicant expects Service Providers to make themselves thoroughly familiar with any rules or regulations regarding the E-rate program.

a. Service Providers are required to be in full compliance with all current rules and requirements and future rules and requirements issued by the FCC and USAC throughout the agreement period of any Agreement entered into as a result of this RFP/RFB/RFQ.

b. Service Providers are responsible for providing a valid Service Provider Identification Number (“SPIN”). More information about obtaining a SPIN may be found at this website: https://www.usac.org/e-rate/service-providers/step-1-obtain-a-spin/

c. Service Providers are responsible for providing a valid Federal Communications Commission Registration Number (“FRN”) at the time the Proposal is submitted. More information about obtaining an FRN may be found at this website: https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do

d. Service Providers are responsible for providing evidence of FCC Green Light Status at the time the proposal is submitted. Any potential Service Provider found to be in Red Light Status must provide an explanation of the steps it is undertaking to be removed to Red Light Status and the expected timeframe for resolution. A Service Provider's sustained Red Light Status may be grounds for termination of the Agreement as it could prohibit the Service Provider from providing E-rate discounts in a timely manner which would cause harm to the Applicant. More information about FCC Red and Green Light Status may be found at this website: http://www.fcc.gov/debt_collection/welcome.html

e. Products and services must be delivered before billing and E-rate discounting can commence. At no time may the Service Provider invoice before July 1, 2026.

f. Prices must be held firm for the duration of the associated E-rate Funding Year(s) or until all work associated with the project is complete (including any Agreement and USAC-approved extensions).

g. Goods and services provided shall be clearly designated as “E-rate Eligible.” Non-eligible goods and services shall be clearly called out as 100% non-eligible or shall be “cost allocated” to show the percentage of eligible costs per USAC guidelines.

h. For Category 2 equipment or services, within one (1) week of notification of award, the awarded Service Provider must provide the Applicant a bill of materials using a completed and most current and appropriate version of USACs “Bulk Upload Template” (formerly known as the Item 21 attachment) located at https://www.usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/applying-for-discounts/fcc-form-471-filing/. Subsequent schedules of values and invoices must match the Bulk Upload Template and approved Funding Request Line Items or subsequent approved service substitutions. If the service provider’s proposal consisted of pricing per eligible location, a summary sheet and summary Bulk Upload Template must be provided to describe the cumulative amount for all sites.

i. In the event of questions during an E-rate pre-commitment review, post-commitment review, and/or audit inquiry, the awarded Service Provider is expected to reply within 3 days to questions associated with its proposal.

j. The awarded Service Provider is required to send copies of all forms and invoices to the Applicant prior to invoicing USAC for pre-approval. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the Applicant placing the vendor on an “Invoice Check” with the USAC: https://www.usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/invoicing/invoice-check/.

k. Service providers must comply with the FCC rules for Lowest Corresponding Price ("LCP"). Further details on LCP may be obtained at USAC's website: https://www.usac.org/e-rate/service-providers/step-2-responding-to-bids/lowest-corresponding-price/.

l. Service providers must not propose any equipment or services produced or provided by companies, their parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries, found to pose a national security threat to the integrity of communications networks or the communications supply chain as required by FCC rules. See https://www.usac.org/about/reports-orders/supply-chain/. Any proposed solution including Covered Equipment or Services as defined by the FCC will be disqualified. If, after award of the project it is found Covered Equipment or Services are included, the award and/or Agreement will be considered to be null and void. See https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain.

m. SPAM and/or robotic responses will not be considered valid Proposals and will be disqualified from consideration.

n. Any Service Provider proposals identifying contingency fees such as allocations for change orders, tariffs, or other speculative fees not specifically called out for in the scope and/or terms of the RFP/RFB/RFQ may be included in the Proposal price and subject to evaluation unless otherwise specified in the RFP/RFB/RFQ. Contingency fees not pre-approved by the Applicant will not be allowed.

3) SERVICE PROVIDER ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

a. The Service Provider acknowledges that no change in the products and/or services specified in its proposal will be allowed without prior written approval from the Applicant and a USAC service substitution approval with the exception of a Global Service Substitutions. See https://www.usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/before-youre-done/service-substitutions/.

b. The Service Provider acknowledges that all pricing and technology infrastructure information in its Proposal shall be considered as public and non-confidential pursuant to §54.504 (2)(i)(ii).

c. The Service Provider acknowledges that its offer is considered to be the lowest corresponding price pursuant to § 54.511(b). Service Providers found not to be providing Lowest Corresponding Price (LCP) may be required to repay any identified overcharges to USAC. The Service Provider acknowledges that LCP is solely the service provider’s responsibility and it will not hold the Applicant liable, or seek reimbursement from any applicant, for any appeals, commitment adjustments or funding recoveries.

d. The Service Provider attests that its offer does not violate the FCC’s Supply Chain certifications included in the FCC Form 473. Supply Chain requirements and certifications can be viewed at USAC’s Website: https://www.usac.org/about/reports-orders/supply-chain/.

e. This offer is in full compliance with USAC’s Free Services Advisory https://www.usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/competitive-bidding/free-services-advisory/. There are no free services offered that would predicate an artificial discount and preclude the applicant from paying its proportionate non-discounted share of costs. The Service Provider agrees to provide substantiating documentation to support this assertion should the applicant, USAC, or the FCC request it.

4) STARTING SERVICES/ADVANCE INSTALLATION

Category 1 Services

The annual E-rate Funding Year begins on July 1 and expires on June 30 of each calendar year. Regardless of the Agreement’s “effective date,” E-rate eligible goods and/or services requested in this RFP/RFB/RFQ shall be delivered no earlier than the start of the 2026 funding year (July 1, 2026). If Category 1 services (Telecommunication Services and Internet access) will begin on or shortly after July 1 of a funding year, the service provider, in some cases, may need to undertake some construction and installation work prior to the beginning of that funding year. Within the limitations indicated below, the infrastructure costs of a service provider can be deemed to be delivered at the same time that the associated Category 1 services begin. That is, if services begin on July 1, then the delivery of service provider infrastructure necessary for those services can be considered as also delivered on July 1. However, NO INVOICING can take place prior to July 1 of the associated Funding Year.

Early Funding Conditions

Category 1 There are four conditions that must be met in order for USAC to provide support in a funding year for Category 1 infrastructure costs incurred prior to that funding year.

· Initiation of installation cannot take place before selection of the service provider pursuant to a posted Form 470 and in any event no earlier than six months prior to July 1 of the funding year.

· The Category 1 service must depend on the installation of the infrastructure.

· The underlying Category 1 service cannot have a service start date prior to July 1 of the funding year.

· No invoices can be submitted to USAC for reimbursement prior to July 1 of the funding year.

For more information, please refer to the FCC Order involving the Nassau County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (DA 02-3365 , released December 6, 2002). This FCC decision only applies to Priority/ Category 1 services (telecommunications services and Internet access).

The complete text can be found at the following URL:

https://www.usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/starting-services/advance-installation/

Category 2 There are two conditions that allow USAC to provide support in a funding year for Category 2 Internal Connections (equipment and services) incurred prior to that funding year.

· Applicants may seek support for Category 2 eligible services purchased on or after April 1, three months prior to the start of the funding year on July 1. This will provide schools with the flexibility to purchase equipment in preparation for the summer recess and provide the maximum amount of time during the summer to install these critical networks.

· No invoices can be submitted to USAC for reimbursement prior to July 1 of the funding year.

For more information, please refer to the FCC Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 14-99 , released July 23, 2014).

It is important to note NO FCC FORM 474 INVOICING can take place before the Funding Commitment Decision Letter is issued, the FCC Form 486 is approved, and/or prior to July 1 of the funding year.

5) INVOICING

a. The Service Provider agrees to bill and receive a portion of the payment for the provisions of goods and services described herein directly from USAC via the FCC Form 474 Service Provider Invoice (SPI). The Applicant will only be responsible for paying its non‐discounted share of costs and does not intend to use the BEAR process (FCC Form 472). The maximum percentage the Applicant will be liable for is the pre-discount amount minus the funded amount as shown on the FCC Form 471 Funding Request Number (“FRN”) and associated FRN Line Items and any identified ineligible costs. Upon the successful receipt or posting of a Funding Commitment Decision Letter from USAC and submission, certification and USAC approval of FCC Form 486, the Applicant shall pay only the discounted amount beginning with the billing cycle immediately following said approval. Alternatively, should the Applicant decide that it is in the best interest of the Applicant to file an FCC Form 472, the Applicant will inform the Service Provider of its intent.

b. The Service Provider agrees that it will not invoice USAC for equipment or services that have not been delivered to and accepted by the Applicant and installed. If equipment is being drop-shipped to the Applicant and the Applicant is responsible for installing the equipment, the Service Provider may not invoice USAC until equipment is received and accepted by the Applicant.

c. All Service Provider invoicing to USAC must be completed within 120 days from the last day of service. Should the Service Provider fail to invoice USAC in a timely manner, the Applicant will only be responsible for paying its non-discounted share.

6) FCC/USAC AUDITS

The E-rate program requires that all records be retained for at least ten (10) years from the last date of service provided on a particular funding request. The Service Provider hereby agrees to retain all books, records, and other documents relative to any Agreement resulting from this RFP/RFB/RFQ for ten (10) years after final payment. The Applicant, its authorized agents, and/or auditors reserves the right to perform or have performed an audit of the records of the Service Provider and therefore shall have full access to and the right to examine any of said materials within a reasonable period of time during said period.

7) PROCUREMENT OF ADDITIONAL GOODS AND/OR SERVICES AND AGREEMENT TERM

During the term of any Agreement resulting from this RFP/RFB/RFQ, the Applicant may elect to procure additional or like goods and/or services offered by the Service Provider. Such services shall be negotiated and obtained via an official amendment to this Agreement and approval by the Applicant's Governing Board. All terms, conditions, warranties, obligations, maintenance and support of said goods or services shall have a coterminous expiration date with the original date of this Agreement. The Applicant shall not enter into a separate Agreement for said goods or services. Service Providers must state in their proposal that they acknowledge, accept and are in agreement with coterminous expiration conditions.

8) TARIFFS

In anticipation of the possible tariff imposed on imported products, Applicant expects that the Service Provider will familiarize themselves with the impact that any unknown tariff(s) on manufacturer’s products are appropriately accounted for in the respondent's fee proposal. The Applicant presumes a tariff will be imposed on any manufacturer's networking equipment manufactured abroad and will be applicable at the time of purchase throughout the term of any agreement resulting from this solicitation (including and mutually agreed upon extensions).

THE SERVICE PROVIDER IS TO IDENTIFY ANY TARIFFS WHEN COMPLETING ANY PRICING ATTACHMENTS AS PART OF THIS SOLICITATION AND IDENTIFY THE PRODUCTS’ COUNTRY(IES) OF ORIGIN.

It is also the expectation of the Applicant that the presumed tariff should be LESS than what is identified or if it is not ultimately imposed upon the manufacturer’s product, the cost saving will be passed along to the Applicant and, in turn, the FCC’s E-Rate program. It should also be presumed by respondents that should any tariff imposed upon a particular manufacturer’s product be higher than what was identified in the Service Provider’s proposal at the time of purchase, the Applicant will appropriately compensate the service provider for the full cost incurred at the time of purchase without regard to E-Rate eligible invoices.

I, the undersigned, as an authorized agent of ______________________________ (Service Provider Name), hereby certify that I have read the E-rate Supplemental Terms and Conditions, am fully compliant and intend to cooperate with the E-rate process as outlined above.

Signature: ____________________________Title: __________________________ Phone Number: _______________________ Email: __________________________ Service Provider Name: _________________________________________________ Service Provider FCC Registration Number: _______________________________ Service Provider Identification Number: __________________________________