Add a Category Two FRN Line Item: Cost Calculation and Recipients of Service

Post 44 - Add a category two FRN line item

After entering the product and service details for your Category Two funding request (FRN) line item, the next screens to complete are the cost calculation, and selecting the recipients of service.

Cost calculation

Enter the cost calculation for the FRN line item. You can find detailed information about this in Post #39: Cost calculation and recipients of service.

A few key reminders about cost calculations are:

  • Enter the cost per unit, then the number of units as the “Monthly Quantity”
  • Enter zero (“0”) if the field doesn’t apply to you
  • Expand the “More help with the costs above” section at the bottom of your screen by clicking the “+” icon on the right of your screen.

One of the differences you’ll notice with Category Two cost calculations for internal connections is that there are fields for both “Monthly Quantity” and “Units” for monthly recurring unit costs.

Monthly quantity is the number of units that have monthly recurring costs. If there is no monthly quantity, enter zero (“0”).

Units are how to group/count the items you’re purchasing, and used to determine the “monthly recurring unit cost” you enter in the first field of this page. If you added an entry to the monthly quantity field, choose from each, dozen, per foot, per hundred feet, or hours. If you did not add a “monthly quantity,” choose “Each.”

Usually, Category Two internal connections equipment only has a one-time cost, not a monthly cost.

Manage recipients of service

On this page, select which entities are receiving this product/service. You can find detailed information on how to add/manage the recipients of service in Post #39: Cost calculation and recipients of service.

Manage recipients of service button

Learn how to add/manage recipients of service.

For the question, “Are the costs shared equally among all of the entities?” If you select “No,” on the next screen, you’ll have to allocate the costs among the entities you’re including.

Reminder: Category Two budgets are per individual school/library, never district- or system-wide. The allocation you add here shows USAC how to count the funding against each recipient of service’s budgets.

Note: Sometimes, a school/library is part of a district/system, and the district/system is part of a consortium. In this case, if both the district/system and consortium use the school/library as part of their cost allocation, the individual school’s Category Two budget would be affected by both claims. Learn more about this situation in the News Brief from April 8.

To add part of the cost to an entity, select the checkbox next to its name, then press the “Edit Eligible Cost” button in the lower-right corner of the list.

EPC Tip: To edit multiple entities at the same time, click the box at the top of the chart next to “BEN.”

Edit eligible cost

The total amount that you need to assign to the entities is displayed as part of the instructions at the top of your screen. The total amount you need to allocate is the same as the “Total Eligible Line Item Cost” from the “Cost Calculation” section.

When you’re finished allocating costs for the FRN line item, press “Save & Continue” to return to the “Recipients of Service for FRN Line Item” screen. Click “Continue” to return to the FRN Line Item list.

If the FRN has more line items, add them here using the “Add New FRN Line Item” button. When you’re finished adding FRN line items, click “Continue” to return to the “Funding Requests” page, where you can add another funding request (FRN), edit a funding request by clicking the blue FRN number, or continue on to certification.

Video: FCC Form 471 Funding Request: Category Two

C2 FRN video preview

Funding for Category Two services is provided in a 5-year budget. Next, we’ll show you how to view your Category Two budget in the E-rate Productivity Center (EPC), and how to view your balance if you already used part of your budget in Funding Year 2015.

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