E-Rate Service Providers Association and E-Rate Central Enter Licensing Agreement; Members Gain Access to State-of-the-Art Online Reporting Tools

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Members of the E-Rate Service Providers Association (ESPA) will now have access to a state-of-the-art E-Rate online reporting and data tool as a result of a new licensing agreement between ESPA and E-Rate Central announced today.

E-Rate Central's "E-Rate Organizer" online tool will allow ESPA members to track E-Rate funding information, manage their business and identify leads and trends. E-Rate Central's tool collects data from the Universal Service Administrative Company into a manageable database that puts all available information at the user's fingertips. E-Rate Organizer can now be accessed by ESPA members through the association's website: www.espaconnects.org.

"Use of E-Rate Central's tool is a tremendous benefit to our members because it is comparable to other third party tools currently available and now can be accessed free as a benefit of ESPA membership," said ESPA President Catherine Banker of Vector Resources, Inc., Torrance, CA.

"E-Rate Central is a highly respected consulting group for schools and libraries participating in the Program and a leading authority on E-Rate. We are very pleased E-Rate Central is working with us to make their state-of-the-art tool available to our members," Banker added.

ESPA was founded in August 2007 to serve as the voice of its members to Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, the Universal Service Administrative Company, the media and public. Membership is open to Service Providers with a current Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) and in good standing with the E-Rate Program, as well as manufacturers of E-Rate eligible equipment. For more information about ESPA, go to http://www.espaconnects.org/.

CONTACT: J.W. Arnold, PRDC, 202-528-1275, jw@prdconline.com