April 30, 2021

TIP OF THE WEEK: Don't forget to sign up for one or both of the May 5 webinars on the Open Data invoicing dataset. You can find descriptions of the E-Rate Invoicing Dataset and Tool Demo and the Customizing the E-Rate Invoicing Dataset events on the E-Rate Webinars page.

Commitments for Funding Year (FY) 2021

FY2021. USAC released FY2021 Wave 3 on April 29. As of April 30, FY2021 commitments total over $877 million.

On the date that USAC issues FCDLs, you can access your FCDL notification from the Notifications section of your landing page in the E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC).

Filing FCC Form 486 Early

After applicants have received an FCDL with a positive funding commitment and services have started for the funding year, they must file an FCC Form 486 (Receipt of Service Confirmation and Children's Internet Protection Act Certification Form) to notify USAC that services have started and to certify the status of their compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

Under certain circumstances you can file the FCC Form 486 early – that is, before services have started. In order to file early, you must be able to accurately make all of the certifications on the form.

Following are some reminders of the certifications you must be prepared to make now if you are filing your FCC Form 486 early.

CIPA reminders

The administrative authority – the relevant authority with responsibility for the administration of the school or library – must report the status of compliance with CIPA.

• If you are the administrative authority for the school or library and you are also the billed entity, you certify your status of CIPA compliance on your FCC Form 486.

• If you are the administrative authority but not the billed entity – for example, if you are a member of a consortium and the consortium files for discounted services on your behalf – you certify your status of CIPA compliance on the FCC Form 479 (Certification by Administrative Authority to Billed Entity of Compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act Form) and provide a copy of that form to your consortium leader. Your consortium leader must have copies of FCC Forms 479 on file from all of its members before it can accurately make the appropriate CIPA certifications on the FCC Form 486 on behalf of its members.

You can also refer to the CIPA page on the USAC website for additional information about the requirements under CIPA.

Receipt of positive funding decisions

You must have received an FCDL with at least one positive funding commitment. In EPC, you will not be able to file an FCC Form 486 for an FCC Form 471 Funding Request Number (FRN) unless USAC has issued a commitment for that FRN.

Service start dates and contracts

You must have confirmed with your service provider(s) that the service(s) for your approved funding commitments will start on or before July 31 of the funding year. You must also confirm that those services will be provided to the eligible entities identified on the FRNs.

In addition, you certify that there are signed contracts covering all of the services listed on the FCC Form 486, except for those services provided under tariff or on a month-to-month basis.

Authorization to submit

You must also certify that you are authorized to submit the FCC Form 486 on behalf of the billed entity; that you have examined the form; and that to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief, all statements of fact provided on the form are true.

You can review the text of all the certifications on the FCC Form 486 after you have completed your entries for the required information on the form. Please review the certifications carefully to make sure that you can accurately make them as of the start of the receipt of discounted services. Do not forget to check the Early Filing box.

Starting August 1, early filing no longer applies. At that point, you must wait until services have actually started before you file your FCC Form 486.

You're Invited: Supply Chain Office Hour Session - May 26

USAC will host an office hour session on the supply chain certification process and how it affects service providers. This session will be held Wednesday, May 26, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Service providers will have the opportunity to ask any questions they have that relate to the supply chain certification process. Please register for the Supply Chain office hour session here.

To submit questions in advance of the office hour, email us at outreach@usac.org.

For additional supply chain details and background, please review the April 2 SL News Brief. For the most current information, please visit USAC's Supply Chain webpage.