Administrators of the e-Rate program are encouraging e-Rate coordinators from schools and libraries across the country to get the basics right as they apply for funds for the 2008-09 cycle, which opened at noon on Nov. 7, 2007 and will close at 11:59 p.m. EST on Feb. 7, 2008. When common mistakes are avoided and the basics of an application are strong, they say, the "application generally goes right."

The following article, authored by officials at the e-Rate compliance specialists company Funds For Learning LLC, outlines the major steps of an applicant's e-Rate process and details when it is--and is not--appropriate for a service provider to be involved.

This comprehensive two-page guide from the eSchool News print newspaper will help you get through the e-Rate process with minimal pain--and a maximum return on your time invested.

A five-year, $28 million contract awarded to Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) to manage the information systems used to administer the federal E-rate has some E-rate service providers crying foul. Because SAIC also is a service provider under the program, critics say the deal represents a huge conflict of interest and could give SAIC a competitive advantage in bidding for other E-rate-related business.

In an e-Rate training session held in Florida last fall, program official Catriona Ayer described how applicants can fix clerical errors in their applications to avoid funding denials.

In an e-Rate training session held in Florida last fall, program executive Mel Blackwell described some of the changes that applicants should know about for 2008.

Get ready: The filing window for the 2008 e-Rate funding cycle--the eleventh cycle of the $2.25 billion-a-year federal program that provides funding for telecommunications and internet to schools and libraries--will open at noon on Nov. 7, 2007.

As the 2008-09 e-Rate filing window approaches, administrators of the program are encouraging e-Rate coordinators from schools and libraries across the country to get the basics right. When common mistakes are avoided and the basics of an application are strong, they say, the "application generally goes right."