BidtallyHow to evaluate E-rate bids (FY2027)
Short answer. Wait at least 28 days after your FCC Form 470 is certified, or after the last RFP upload or amendment, before you select a provider or sign (47 CFR 54.503(c)(4)). Score every bid with an evaluation matrix in which the price of the eligible products and services weighs more than any other single factor (54.503(c)(2)(ii)(B)). Select the highest-scoring bid, write down why, and keep the Form 470, the RFP, every bid, the scoring sheets and the contract for at least 10 years after the last day of service (54.516).
1. Confirm your dates before bids arrive
- Allowable contract date: 28 days after the Form 470 certification; a later RFP upload or amendment restarts the 28 days. USAC publishes the date in its open data for every certified Form 470.
- Bid due date: set it on or after the allowable contract date. A due date before it cuts the bidding window short.
- Contract: sign only after the allowable contract date; for contracted services, have the signed contract before you file the FCC Form 471.
2. Fix the evaluation matrix before you open bids
- Price of eligible products and services must weigh more than any other single factor. It does not have to be 50% or more.
- Ineligible costs may be scored only in a separate factor that weighs less than price.
- In a multi-round evaluation, price points of all rounds are added; the total must still be the largest.
- Requirements that disqualify a bid (for example a state procurement registration or a SPIN) must be announced on the Form 470 or in the RFP in advance; they are met or not met, not scored.
3. Score every bid the same way
A common method gives the lowest qualified bid the full price weight and every other bid a share: price points = price weight × lowest eligible price ÷ the bid's eligible price. Other factors are scored on a fixed scale (for example 0–10) and weighted. Score every bid you received, including the ones you will not choose.
4. Select, explain, sign
- Select the bid with the highest total score. If it is not the cheapest, the memo should say which factors outweighed the price difference.
- Write down every disqualification and the announced requirement it rests on.
- Sign the evaluation memo and the contract after the allowable contract date, then file the Form 471 with your funding requests in USAC's window.
5. Why reviewers look here
In FY2025 USAC denied 370 funding requests from 205 applicants, worth $50.7 million before discounts, with reasons that cite the price factor, competitive bidding, the 28-day wait or the Form 470 (USAC FRN status open data, read 30 October 2026).
Three ways to do it, compared
| Spreadsheet + USAC sample matrix | E-rate consultant | Bidtally | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $5,000–$9,860 a year in public contracts; one firm bills $4,000 extra for evaluating vendor responses | $990 a year per applicant ($594 founding price until 30 Nov 2026) |
| 28-day wait and allowable contract date | You look them up and compare by hand | The consultant checks | Read from USAC open data for your Form 470 and checked |
| Price-primary check | By hand | The consultant checks | Automatic, including multi-round totals |
| Evaluation memo and FRN worksheet | You write them | Usually included | Generated from your bids |
| Where your bids go | Stay on your computer | Sent to the consultant | Stay in your browser |
| Who decides | You | You: FCC rules keep the selection with the applicant | You |
A spreadsheet is enough if you have one or two services and time to check the rules yourself. A consultant also handles forms and deadlines beyond the evaluation. Bidtally checks the evaluation and writes the paperwork; it does not file forms for you.
Check your own bids free
Open the free sample or check your own bids: every problem, score and number shows on screen without sign-up. Downloading the workbook, memo and FRN worksheet for your own bids needs a license: Single applicant $990, Multi-applicant $1,990 (up to 10), Consultant $3,900 (unlimited), each one payment for 12 months; $594, $1,194 and $2,340 with FOUNDING40 until 30 Nov 2026. Purchase orders: procurement page.