READY-TO-USE TEMPLATE FOR FORM 471
LAUNCHES TODAY ON SLC WEB SITE

Schools and libraries have one week to file a Form 470 for consideration in the 75-day window.

A new electronic template to help E-rate applicants complete Form 471 for the Universal Service Fund is now available on the Schools and Libraries Corporation web site, <http://www.slcfund.org>.

The downloadable Microsoft Excel (version 7.0 for Windows 95) template will ease data entry -- and allow schools and libraries to import data from their existing spreadsheets and databases -- to complete Form 471, which is the second step in the Universal Service Fund application process. Applicants will then print out their completed applications and mail them on paper to the Schools and Libraries Corporation Client Service Bureau in Iowa City, Iowa.

To download the template, applicants should go to the Reference Area of the Schools and Libraries Corporation web site, then click on the 471 Application Guidance button. The template and instructions for its use are listed among 10 new documents to help schools and libraries through this phase of the application process.

The Schools and Libraries Corporation reminds applicants who want their discount requests to be considered during the special 75-day window -- in which all applications are treated as if they had arrived simultaneously -- that they will need to complete and submit both Form 470 and Form 471 by April 15, 1998. Since Form 471 can be completed no sooner than 28 days after Form 470 has been received, the last day for in-the-window filing of Form 470 will be March 18. Signed certification pages for both Form 470 and Form 471 must also be received within the 75-day window. After the 75-day window closes, applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Completed Form 471s should be mailed to: Schools and Libraries Corporation, P.O. Box 4217, Iowa City, IA 52244-4217, or sent via express delivery to Schools and Libraries Corporation, c/o Sherri Chalupa, 2510 N. Dodge Street, Iowa City, IA 52245. No Form 471s will be accepted via e-mail or fax.

For information about the Universal Service Program or help with the application process, call 888-203-8100, or query via e-mail to <question@slcfund.org>. For basic program information, go to <http://www.neca.org>.

As of close of business on March 10, the Schools and Libraries Corporation had received more than 30,000 Form 470 applications.