Schools and Libraries

Step 4: 28-Day Waiting Period

Applicants must wait at least 28 days after the posting of the Description of Services Requested and Certification Form (Form 470) on USAC's website before executing any contracts, selecting a service provider, or signing and submitting the Services Ordered and Certification Form (Form 471).

To ensure a fair and open competition, service providers must be given a reasonable period of time to respond to a request for products and services. Federal Communications Commission rules require applicants to wait at least 28 days after the Form 470 request is posted to the USAC website before executing any contracts for contracted services, selecting a service provider for tariffed or month-to-month services, or signing and submitting Form 471. Your state or local procurement regulations may require a longer waiting period or impose additional requirements.

Some state or local procurement rules or regulations require applicants to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) in addition to the Form 470. Some applicants may choose to issue an RFP even though one is not required by state or local procurement regulations.  FCC rules require that, if you issue an RFP, it must be available to bidders for 28 days just like the Form 470. If you issue an RFP after you post a Form 470, your Allowable Vendor Selection/Contract Date (ACD) is actually 28 days after you issued the RFP, not 28 days after you posted the Form 470.

In all cases, you must wait 28 days after the Form 470 is posted to the USAC website or after public availability of your RFP, whichever is later, before selecting a service provider or executing a contract.

The competitive bidding process must be open for 28 days. For this to occur, you must be able to receive bids during the entire 28-day period. Following are some examples of competitive bidding processes that WERE NOT open for 28 days and DO NOT meet program requirements:

  • A Form 470 is posted on October 1, an RFP issued on October 8, and competitive bidding process closes on October 29.
    • This does not meet the requirements because the RFP was not available for 28 days.
  • A Form 470 is posted and an RFP issued on October 1, accepting bids stops on October 15, and bid evaluation process begins on October 29.
    • This does not meet the requirements because bids were not accepted for at least 28 days.
  • An RFP is issued on September 24 with a response deadline of October 22, a Form 470 is posted on October 1, and the competitive bidding process is closed on October 29.
    • This does not meet program requirements because responses to the RFP were due before the Form 470 had been posted for 28 days. Bidders must have 28 days from the most recent posting or issuance date to respond.

Applicants should take reasonable steps to ensure that they have waited at least 28 days from the most recent posting or issuance date. They must also notify potential bidders of any change.

The ACD is calculated by USAC's system when a Form 470 is successfully data entered and POSTED to the USAC website. This date can be found on the Form 470 Receipt Notification Letter.

NOTE: If an applicant files a paper Form 470, USAC must successfully enter the data on the form in its system before the Form 470 can be posted to the USAC website. If information necessary to complete data entry is missing or incomplete, USAC will attempt to reach the contact person named on the Form 470 to obtain the information needed for data entry. A paper Form 470 cannot be posted to the USAC website until all necessary information is obtained. Do not assume that the ACD is 28 days after the postmark date on the paper Form 470.

 


Last modified on 12/5/2008