Meter for Education

Maximize your E-Rate discounts with Meter

Utilize your Category 2 budget and find the E-Rate process less burdensome with Meter’s end-to-end approach to networks.

Meter for Education

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E-Rate funding available for:

Security appliances

Switches

Wi-Fi 6 APs

IDF rack

UPS

Cat6 Cabling

Configuration Updates

Managed Wi-Fi

Network Monitoring

Hardware & Cabling Repairs

E-Rate Overview

K-12 schools can apply for discounts on internet access, networking hardware, and maintenance of the network through E-Rate, a program administered by USAC.

Internet access

Category 1

Building out an internet connection (e.g., fiber, coax) to a location.

Monthly internet cost.

Networking hardware & maintenance

Category 2

Internal Connections: wireless access points, switches, routers, cabling.

Managed Internal Broadband Services: using a vendor like Meter to monitor and manage your network.

Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections: using a vendor like Meter to repair and update internal connections like hardware and cabling.

How to Apply For E-Rate Funds

Competitive bidding

Post your RFPs for products and services.

Step 1: File FCC Form 470

Selecting service providers

Review the vendors who have responded to your RFPs and provide an evaluation of selected vendors based on price and other relevant factors.

Step 2

Sample Bid Evaluation Matrix

Applying for discounts

Provide detailed information on the vendors selected (costs, contracts, square footage covered, timelines, internet access and speeds, etc.)

Step 3: File FCC Form 471

Application review

The USAC performs an initial review of your application and a final review, which may involve follow up questions on eligibility, discount calculations, contracts, and your process for arriving at your selected vendors.

Step 4

Starting services

After receiving the funding decision letter from Step 4, FCC Form 486 must be filed to inform USAC that the discounted services you have been approved for have started, and that you are in compliance with CIPA.

Step 5: File FCC Form 486

Invoicing methods for discounts

The final step contains methods for invoicing USAC to receive reimbursements.

Step 6: File FCC Form 472

E-Rate Resources

Why schools like using Meter for E-Rate

Meter falls under your category 2 budget. K-12 schools can use this budget to pay for Meter’s product and service, which includes hardware, co-management, and repairs.

Simplify applying for E-Rate funds

There’s a lot of work involved in applying for E-Rate funds – assessing needs, maintaining compliance, filing form 470 and 471, responding to PIA, invoicing USAC, etc.

Meter’s entire solution (hardware, co-management, and repairs) is a single line item under MIBS, making E-Rate applications easy.

Meter install process

See how it works

Kickoff

The Meter operations team will meet with your internal or external IT team to plan the installation. We will set a call to review logistics and your technical requirements.

ISP procurement

Meter can work with your existing ISP or find the best providers to meet your bandwidth needs.

We’ll negotiate rates on your behalf and handle all ISP customer support for a smooth installation. We are ISP agnostic and partner with every local ISP.

Site survey

Meter will work with your internal or external IT team to have a technician visit your space. They will take detailed notes about the space and existing infrastructure.

Installation

Meter will work with your internal or external IT team to have technicians run low-voltage cabling and install our hardware, which we will ship on-site in advance. Meter’s installation project management is complimentary at no additional cost.

Same-day testing & configuration

Once Meter’s hardware is installed, Meter will set up your network same-day and validate it. For a network cut-over, your old equipment will be left in-place until this step is completed.

Continuous support & service

Meter will continue to provide ongoing remote support. We will:

Proactively identify and resolve issues on your network

Troubleshoot network issues in real-time

Manage network upgrades and ongoing infrastructure improvements

“Prior to Meter, we were using 5 different providers to handle our network. This was our cloud-based networking vendor, resellers, and third parties to support the network and applications. And we were able to consolidate all of this into just using Meter.”

E-Rate timeline

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Competitive bidding

Jul - Mid Feb

Form 470

Select vendor

Jan - Mar

Form 471

Services start

Apr - Jun

Form 486

Maximize your E-Rate discounts with Meter

Meter Network

E-Rate Overview

Internet access

Networking hardware & maintenance

How to Apply For E-Rate Funds

Competitive bidding

Selecting service providers

Applying for discounts

Application review

Starting services

Invoicing methods for discounts

Why schools like using Meter for E-Rate

Simplify applying for E-Rate funds

Kickoff

ISP procurement

Site survey

Installation

Same-day testing & configuration

Continuous support & service

E-Rate timeline

Cohesive networks, not patchworksBuilt by network engineers

Cohesive networks, not patchworks
Built by network engineers