E-rate lead software for small IT providers
Every Monday: the open Form 470 network bids within 60 miles of your office, with what each school reported last time where USAC has it on file.
Public USAC records. Every line links to its source. Not affiliated with USAC or the FCC.
What it does for a 2–50 person shop
Near you, not “your state”
A 60-mile radius around your office ZIP that crosses state lines. Bids close to the 60-mile line are listed separately and never counted.
Last time, in the row
For each open bid, where USAC has a usable last request: the bids the school reported on it, the provider it chose, the pre-discount cost and USAC status. Each fact links to its USAC row.
The date that matters
The allowable contract date exactly as USAC lists it, never computed. Bids already closed by a passed mandatory site visit are left out. Why the date is not the deadline.
What one row looks like
A real row from the sample list for ZIP 49058, built from USAC data of November 7, 2026 and still open when this page was built. Our pipeline writes the sentence from USAC fields; no one types it.
Hillsdale County I S D (Hillsdale, MI) has an open Form 470 (#270003020) and requests bids on 12,000 feet of cabling among other items (Internal Connections). USAC lists November 27, 2026 as the earliest date it can sign a contract. On its FY2022 Internal Connections request it reported 2 bids and chose Network Solutions, Inc.: $29,088.30 pre-discount cost; USAC status Funded (FRN 2299026658). It also has open Form 470 #270002981 for Category 2 services.
USAC records behind this row (6)
The amount is the school’s last request of that kind, not the price of what it asks for now. The bid count is self-reported by the school. “Funded” means USAC approved the request, not that money was paid.
The numbers behind the list
- 778
- open Form 470s with Category 2 items nationally, after our checks, from 730 schools, libraries and districts
- 14
- buyers with open network bids within 60 miles of the median USAC service-provider office in IL, IN, MI, MO, OH, WI (3,169 offices)
- 125 of 708
- open bids whose buyer reported a single bid on its last request (self-reported by the school)
- 0
- rows that failed our automatic re-check against the raw USAC records (a failing row is removed before anyone sees it)
As of November 7, 2026; USAC data of November 7, 2026.
Where it fits, and where it doesn’t
- Fits a shop that sells network equipment and services to schools and libraries within driving distance, and wants one list a week with context on each bid.
- Launch area: IL, IN, MI, MO, OH, WI, where the median 60-mile area around a service-provider office has 8 to 19 open bids. USAC data covers every state, so the list works elsewhere too, but it may be short.
- Not covered: Category 1 bids (internet access, WAN), the contents of RFP files, and alerts the moment a 470 is filed. The list is weekly.
- Need more? If you want a daily research tool across many states, a team pipeline or a SPIN-wide award search, another tool may suit you better. See the Form 470 tools compared.
Before you bid, follow USAC’s rules for service providers: you must not prepare or certify a school’s Form 470 or give input on its RFP (USAC).
Questions
Is erateradar a USAC tool?
No. erateradar is not affiliated with USAC or the FCC. It reads USAC’s public E-rate records and links every fact back to the USAC row it came from.
Does a school that reported 1 bid last time mean an easy win?
No. The bid count is what the school reported on its last Form 471 request of that kind. It is self-reported, and the new request may cover different equipment. Read it as context, not as a weak spot.
Which bids are on the list?
Open Form 470s with Category 2 line items: internal connections such as Wi-Fi, switches, cabling and firewalls, their basic maintenance, and managed internal broadband. Forms with no Category 2 items, forms already closed by a passed mandatory site visit, and forms with no usable location are left out.
Do you contact schools for me?
No. We contact no one. You get the list and the contact named on each Form 470, and you decide whom to bid on. Your territory and searches stay private to your account.
Is the date on each bid the deadline?
No. It is the allowable contract date, the first day the school may sign. The deadline for responses is in the Form 470 or its RFP.
Sources
- USAC Form 470 Basic Information (jp7a-89nd) (USAC data of November 7, 2026)
- USAC Form 470 Services Requested (39tn-hjzv) (USAC data of November 7, 2026)
- USAC Form 471 FRN Status (qdmp-ygft) (USAC data of November 7, 2026)
- USAC Service Provider Information (xcy2-bdid) (USAC data of November 7, 2026)
- USAC Open Data: E-Rate FCC Form 470 Download Tool (read November 7, 2026)
- USAC: Service providers, Step 2: Respond to Applicant Bid Requests (read November 7, 2026)
Counts and amounts on this page are computed from public USAC records by our own pipeline and refreshed with each build; each number’s method is in its tooltip. Vendor prices are quoted as each vendor publishes them, with the date we read the page. Where the data comes from.