The short answer
- USAC's FRN Status dataset on Open Data lists each funding request with the applicant's BEN, the service type, the service provider's name, the number of bids received, the award date and the contract expiration date.
- The Form 471 line item dataset shows what was bought on each request, down to manufacturer, model, quantity and unit cost.
- In FY2025, 12.9% of funded internal connections requests reported a single bid. Knowing the incumbent tells you who you are up against, not that the work is taken.
Why the incumbent matters
A Form 470 says what an applicant wants. It doesn't say who installed the network you'd be adding to, who has maintained it for the last three years, or what the district paid. Those answers change how you bid: whether to propose the same platform, how hard to price, and whether the district is likely to stay with what it has.
The answers are public. E-Rate applicants request funding on FCC Form 471, in one or more funding requests (FRNs), and each FRN names the service provider by name and SPIN. USAC publishes those requests on its Open Data site.
Looking it up
- Get the applicant's BEN.The billed entity number is on the Form 470. You can also search USAC's entity data by name.
- Open the FRN Status data.On opendata.usac.org, open the E-Rate Request for Discount on Services: FRN Status dataset and filter by that BEN.
- Narrow to Category 2.Filter the service type to Internal Connections, Managed Internal Broadband Services and Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections, and sort by funding year, newest first.
- Read the provider and status.Each row shows the service provider, the FRN status (Funded, Pending, Denied or Cancelled), the bid count and the contract dates.
- See what was bought.Take the FRN number to the Form 471 line item dataset for the products, models, quantities and unit costs.
What the record tells you
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Service provider name | Who won the work, on this request |
| FRN status | Whether USAC funded it, is still reviewing it, or denied or cancelled it |
| Bid count | How many bids the applicant says it received |
| Award date and contract expiration | When the contract was signed and when it runs out |
| Establishing Form 470 | The 470 the award came from, so you can read what was asked for |
| Pre-discount costs and discount | The size of the request and the applicant's discount rate |
Across funded internal connections requests in FY2025, 1,857 of 14,397 (12.9%) reported one bid and 3,116 (21.6%) reported two. Many funded requests drew one or two bids.
Source: USAC Open Data, FRN Status dataset, current versions with status Funded, pulled October 30, 2026.
What it can't tell you
- Consortium filings. When a consortium files, the billed entity is the consortium, so a member district's work sits under the consortium's BEN.
- Work outside E-Rate. Equipment a district bought without E-Rate support doesn't appear.
- Satisfaction. A record shows who won, not whether the district would pick them again.
- The current year, at first. New 471s show as pending until USAC reviews them, so the latest year can change.
Incumbents in Workbench
E-Rate Workbench puts the incumbent on every matching Form 470, beside the district's remaining Category 2 budget, so you see both before you write a quote. In Pro, you can look up any applicant's incumbent and past awards by BEN, and Pricing Research shows what USAC funded for the same kind of gear.
Questions providers ask
Is it fair to look up the incumbent before bidding?
Yes. FRN data is published by USAC for anyone to read. The competitive bidding rules govern how applicants run their process and choose a provider; reading public award records is ordinary market research.
Where do I find a district's BEN?
On its Form 470, or by searching USAC's entity data by name. The BEN is the number USAC uses for the billed entity on every form it files.
How far back should I look?
Category 2 budgets run in five-year cycles, and the current cycle began with funding year 2026. Looking back across this cycle and the last shows who did the bigger installs and who has been doing maintenance.
Does Workbench show who else bid?
No. Losing bids aren't public. Workbench shows the provider that won each request and the bid count the applicant reported.