E-rate competitive bidding rules require that a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form 470 be posted for a minimum of 28 days before filing an associated FCC Form 471 funding request. The E-rate applicant must also follow all E-rate competitive bidding rules. Note that the last date to file an FCC Form 470 and meet the minimum 28-day requirement, and also meet the FCC Form 471 filing deadline of March 25, would be February 26, 2020. It’s important to note, however, that compliance with E-rate competitive bidding requirements, as well as the time necessary to complete an FCC Form 471, make it unrealistic for most applicants to file their FCC Forms 470 on February 26th. Best practices are for applicants to plan for a 30-60 day competitive bidding cycle to allow for unexpected changes, review bids received, and award contracts. If you have not yet posted your FCC Form 470 for Funding Year 2020, and expect that you will need to do so, do not delay. More information on FCC Form 470 and competitive bidding best practices is available on the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) Webinars web page at
https://www.usac.org/e-rate/learn/webinars/.