The mission of the Office of General Services is centered around providing solutions that enable our customers to concentrate on their primary mission. When it comes to meeting the competitive procurement requirements specified in the Universal Service Fund (or "E-rate") discount program for schools and libraries, we are here to help.

To help simplify the process, we have put together on this and associated pages, information relevant to those contracts offered through OGS that provide services and/or equipment eligible for the E-rate discount. This discount results from the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, and subsequent efforts by both the Federal Communications Commission and the Public Service Commission. The national fund enabled through these efforts offers schools and libraries the opportunity to acquire telecommunications services and equipment at discounts ranging from 20% to 90%.

One of the requirements schools and libraries must meet for receiving discounted services is to demonstrate that the pre-discount prices, upon which the applicable E-rate discount will be applied, were achieved through a competitive process. That's where OGS contracts come in.

Many of our contracts meet this competitive requirement, and by utilizing these contracts, an eligible school or library is not required to conduct its own procurement. Some of our contracts are negotiated directly with manufacturers and include guidelines for soliciting best and final offers at the time of purchase. Using OGS contracts offers the following benefits:

• These contracts are already in place. There is no need to divert valuable staff resources or time on an alternative procurement.

• In many cases, services and equipment can be ordered from these contracts immediately. In other cases, an expedited best and final offer solicitation is all that is required.

• Our contracts offer competitive pricing and added value. In several instances, the pricing is volume driven, and rates improve with increased participation. These types of contracts have enabled the State (state, city and county government, schools and libraries and other statutorily authorized users) to aggregate their business as a single customer. Considering this is the price BEFORE application of the E-rate discount, it makes for a great starting point..

• There are no term, volume or dollar commitments required by individual users under most of telecommunications services contracts. You can use the service you need for as long as you need it in the quantity you require, without having to be concerned with termination penalties. This flexibility should be particularly helpful in the constantly evolving technical environment we work in..

Listed below are those contracts that include services and/or equipment eligible for the USF discount. While many of the contract items meet E- rate discount eligibility requirements, there are some that do not. We encourage you to review the E-rate discount eligibility requirements carefully to verify applicability to the specific product/service of interest.

We have tried to include with each contract all of the information you need in a simple and easy-to-use format. If you do not find what you are looking for, please contact the OGS Procurement Services Group at 1-800-661-7816 or 518-474-6717
or E-mail us at customer.services@ogs.state.ny.us

For more specific information on the E-rate discount, including eligibility and application requirements, we encourage you to visit the following web site at http://www.e-ratecentral.com/us/stateInformation.asp?state=NY.