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May 18, 2012
TIP OF THE WEEK: Continue to monitor the preferred mode of contact (email, fax, or telephone) you indicated on your FCC Form 471. PIA uses this information to contact you with questions on your application.
Commitments for Funding Year 2011
Funding Year 2011. USAC will release FY2011 Wave 46 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) May 23. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 2 (Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance) requests at 90% and denials at 79% and below. As of May 18, FY2011 commitments total over $2.18 billion.
On the day the FCDLs are mailed, you can check to see if you have a commitment by using USAC's Automated Search of Commitments tool.
Fall 2012 Applicant Training Dates and Locations Announced; Registration to Open Early Next Week
Each fall, USAC provides training to applicants around the country in advance of the FCC Form 471 application filing window. Below is a list of the training cities for 2012. Information on hotel reservations an training registration will be posted early next week to the Trainings and Outreach page. Please wait until the hotel information is available on the USAC website before contacting the hotel to make a reservation.
| City |
Date |
| Washington DC |
October 1 |
| Dallas, TX |
October 9 |
| Saint Louis, Missouri |
October 16 |
| Atlanta, Georgia |
October 18 |
| Newark, New Jersey |
October 23 |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota |
October 30 |
| Portland, Oregon |
November 1 |
| Los Angeles, California |
* November 7 |
* Note date change
The training sessions have an applicant focus but anyone can attend. Registrations are on a first-come, first-served basis. USAC will start a waiting list for each session once that session reaches capacity. We ask that you register only for the session that you want to attend and that you email USAC Training to cancel your registration if your plans change so that someone else can register in your place.
Below are some FAQs for the fall applicant training:
Q. How long is the training?
The training will last a full day. This will allow attendees who live within a few hours' drive of the training to avoid an overnight stay if they wish.
Q. Who can attend the training?
Anyone can attend. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Keep in mind that the training will be focused on the applicant experience; the annual training for service providers has already occurred.
Q. Does USAC charge a registration fee for the training?
No. However, attendees are responsible for their travel costs including transportation and lodging. Note that at some of the conference hotels, USAC has negotiated a reduced parking rate.
Q. How do I make hotel reservations?
There is a separate web page on the USAC website for each of the eight training sessions. Click on the link from the Trainings and Outreach page to the web page for the training session you would like to attend and follow the instructions on that page to make a hotel reservation.
Note that the conference room rate for a training session expires several weeks before the date of that session. Rooms may not be available – or may be more expensive – if you try to make a reservation after the date that the conference room rate expires. If you have difficulty with the reservation process, you can email USAC Training.
Q. What will USAC cover in the training?
We plan to have a beginners session early in the morning that will cover the basic application process for those who need an overview or a refresher. The other sessions at the training change from year to year. In general, we expect them to cover program information along with updates, specific guidance for the FY2013 application process, and details of any changes or revisions to the program.
Q. Will training materials be available onsite?
The final agenda and the training presentations will be posted on the USAC website during the week before the first training session. Attendees should download or print copies and bring them to the training.
USAC will provide packets of general reference materials at each training. We will bring a limited number of printed copies of the presentations, but we suggest you bring your own as those copies tend to go quickly.
Q. What should I bring with me to the training?
At a minimum, we suggest the following:
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Copies of the presentations, either printed or downloaded.
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A copy of your hotel reservation.
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Directions to the hotel by the transportation method you intend to use to get there. Note that there are links to the conference hotels – and in some cases links to directions – on the web page specific to each location. The conference hotels are generally close either to a large airport or to downtown.
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A sweater or jacket. Hotel conference rooms can be chilly.
Q. What if I still have questions?
You can email USAC Training with any questions. You can also use this email address to cancel or change your conference registration. However, to cancel a hotel reservation, please contact the hotel directly.
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