Administrative Procedure:
State Master Contract Procedure
USAC accepts State Master Contracts signed by an entity (other than the billed entity that submits the application) to support Funding Request Number(s) (FRN(s)) that rely(ies) on that State Master Contract.
Further Detail:
State Master Contracts are contracts which are competitively bid and are put in place by an entity of state government for use by others. If a billed entity relies on a State Master Contract to submit its FCC Form 471 application, the billed entity will not have signed the State Master Contract.
Rules that this furthers:
1. 47 C.F.R. § 54.500(g) defines a “master contract” as a “contract negotiated with a service provider by a third party, the terms and conditions of which are then made available to an eligible school, library, rural health care provider, or consortium that purchases directly from the service provider.”
2. 47 C.F.R. § 54.503(c) requires applicants to seek competitive bids by posting an FCC Form 470 to the USAC website for a minimum of 28 days to initiate the competitive bidding process.
3. 47 C.F.R. § 54.511(a) requires applicants to “carefully consider all bids submitted and must select the most cost-effective service offering. In determining which service offering is the most cost-effective, entities may consider relevant factors other than the pre-discount prices submitted by providers but price should be the primary factor considered.”
4. 47 C.F.R. § 54.504(a) requires applicants to submit an FCC Form 471 to USAC after signing a contract for eligible services.
5. 47 C.F.R § 54.701(a) requires USAC to “administer[ ] the universal service support mechanisms in an efficient, effective, and competitively neutral manner.”
6. 47 C.F.R. § 54.702(g) requires USAC to take “administrative action intended to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.”
How this furthers program integrity:
Enables applicants to receive benefits of State Master Contracts even though the applicant does not sign the State Master Contract. Also, the lower costs achieved through bundling demand in State Master Contracts may increase the cost-effective use of USF funds.