As so often happens with the start of a funding year, the Form 470 for the funding year following that one is also released. The Form 470 opens the competitive bidding process to identify the E-Rate eligible products and services you need so that potential service providers can review those requests and submit bids for them.

The FY2020 Form 470 is now available in the EPC portal and can be filed as soon as you like.

Entities that apply for any E-Rate not arranged through Networkmaine must file a Form 470 if they have an expiring contract or want to request E-Rate for new products or services for FY2020 (July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021).

The last day to file a Form 470 is 28 days before the closing of the Form 471 filing window. The exact FY2020 Form 470 deadline will remain unknown until the FY2020 Form 471 filing window dates are announced, but there is no harm in getting a jump start on FY2020 and filing your Form 470 early!

The FY2020 Form 470 has not changed significantly from the FY2019 version, but instructions are attached for those who like the step by step guides.