Step 3 Selecting Service Providers

State Replacement Contracts

State procurement schedules sometimes do not dovetail with the timeline for the application process. If both states and applicants follow the guidance for the appropriate scenario below, applicants may request discounts under a state master contract that was competitively bid and put in place by a state government entity for use by others to replace an expiring state master contract. We refer to a state master contract that replaces another state master contract as a state replacement contract.

The Two Scenarios

There are two scenarios in which one state master contract can replace another:

• Scenario A: The original state master contract expires after the application filing window closes but before the start of the funding year. Applicants intend to receive services during the funding year under a new state master contract - the state replacement contract.
• Scenario B: The original state master contract expires during the funding year. Applicants intend to receive services under the original state master contract for a portion of the funding year and under a new state master contract - the state replacement contract - for the remainder of the funding year.

Conditions That Apply to Both Scenarios

• The state entity must have posted an FCC Form 470 to open the competitive bidding process that resulted in the original state master contract.
• The state entity must post an FCC Form 470 to open the competitive bidding process that results in the state replacement contract. All E-rate program rules - the 28-day waiting period, the open and fair competitive bidding process, the bid evaluation process with the cost of the eligible products and services as the factor weighted most heavily in the evaluation - continue to apply, in addition to any state procurement rules and regulations. However, the FCC Form 470 will be posted outside of the usual timeframe during which these forms are posted.
• The Billed Entity must file a funding request (identified by a Funding Request Number or FRN) for the state replacement contract on an FCC Form 471 before the close of the application filing window. (In the first scenario, the Billed Entity will file one FRN for the state replacement contract in order to cover service for the entire funding year. In the second scenario, the Billed Entity will file two FRNs - one for the original state master contract and one for the state replacement contract - in order to cover service for the entire funding year.)
• For both recurring charges and non-recurring charges (one-time charges such as installation), the amount of the funding request cannot be greater than the charges contained in the expiring state master contract. If the state replacement contract charges are different, they can be reflected in FCC Forms 471 filed in subsequent years.
• If no provision was made in the original state master contract for non-recurring charges, you cannot request discounts on non-recurring charges under the state replacement contract for the funding year. (You may request discounts on non-recurring charges for subsequent program years in subsequent FCC Forms 471 if the state replacement contract includes non-recurring charges.)
• The state and the billed entity must follow the step-by-step guidance outlined in either Scenario A or Scenario B as appropriate for the applicants to receive discounts under the state replacement contract for the funding year.