Competitive Bidding Exemptions

If your site meets one of the competitive bidding exemptions below, you are not required to submit the FCC Form 465 (Request for Services Form) and go through the competitive bidding process. You must indicate your intent to use a competitive bidding exemption when you file the FCC Form 466 (Funding Request Form).

You are exempt from competitive bidding if any of the following apply:

1. You are seeking support for services purchased from master service agreements (MSAs) negotiated by a federal, state, Tribal, or local governmental entity on the applicant’s behalf, and awarded pursuant to applicable federal, state, Tribal, or local competitive bidding requirements.
2. The applicant is opting into an existing MSA approved under the HCF program and is seeking support for services purchased from the MSA, as long as the MSA was developed and negotiated in response to an RFP or request for services that specifically solicited proposals that included a mechanism for adding additional sites to the MSA.
3. You have an existing contract already endorsed by USAC as evergreen.
4. You are purchasing services under a contract approved under the E-Rate program as a master contract.

If you do not meet any of the exemptions above, you must submit an FCC Form 465 to USAC and competitively bid the requested services.

For more information about preparing for competitive bidding, please see Step 2: Prepare for Competitive Bidding and Request Services.