March 8, 2013 

Commitments for Funding Years 2012 and 2011

Funding Year 2012. USAC will release Funding Year (FY) 2012 Wave 34 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) March 12. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 2 (Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance) requests at 90 percent and denials at 89 percent and below. As of March 8, FY2012 commitments total over $1.94 billion.

Funding Year 2011. USAC will release FY2011 Wave 84 FCDLs March 13. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 2 requests at 88 percent and above and denials at 87 percent and below. As of March 8, FY2011 commitments total over $2.55 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.

Service Provider Training Reminder

The two spring 2013 service provider trainings will be held on the following dates and locations:

• Tuesday, May 7 at the Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Airport Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia.
• Thursday, May 9 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, Los Angeles, California.

To register for the training and to find information on hotel reservations, refer to the Training Sessions and Presentations page on the USAC website.

Los Angeles still has a few spaces available; Atlanta has gone to a waiting list. Once a waiting list is created, we will only process new registrations as we receive cancellations. Please email USAC if you have registered but you will be unable to attend so that we can open a space for someone else.

CSB Extended Hours

To assist applicants with last-minute issues, the Client Service Bureau (CSB) will be open during the following hours for the last week of the FY2013 application filing window:

Filing Reminders for Item 21 Attachments

The Item 21 attachment – a description of service required for each Block 5 funding request on the FCC Form 471 – is a window filing requirement. This means it must be received (if filed online, by email or fax, or hand-delivered) or postmarked (if filed on paper and sent by delivery service or U.S. Mail) by 11:59 PM EDT on March 14, 2013.

If you intend to file online:

In order to file an Item 21 attachment online, you must have filed your Form 471 online. To file your Item 21 attachment online, go to the Apply Online page and click on the Item 21 Attachment button in the Form 471 column. You will need the following information to access your FRN(s) and complete your Item 21 attachment(s):

• Billed Entity Number
• FCC Form 471 application number
• Security code
• Any documentation – such as bid responses, contracts, or service descriptions – that contains information on the services you are seeking.

The online system will walk you through the process of filing. You can even bring funding request information from your FRNs into the online Item 21 attachment so that you can verify your calculations. The system will warn you if the total dollar figure on your attachment doesn't match the total dollar figure on the associated FRN and allow you to make adjustments.

Remember to provide the following:

• For telecommunication services, the number of lines and extensions.
• For digital transmission services, the bandwidth.
• For Internet access, the bandwidth or the type of circuit.
• For equipment, the make, model, and SKU (stock-keeping unit).
• For basic maintenance, the equipment being maintained.

Your online Item 21 attachment has not been submitted until you click the Submit button on the last screen. If you need to make changes to your online attachment after you have submitted it, you must submit a revised attachment using another filing option – you cannot revise an attachment online after you click the Submit button.

If you intend to file on paper:

Although we often refer to other filing methods as "filing on paper," you have three options other than online filing. You should refer to the Item 21 Attachments guidance document on the USAC website for the specific information you need to provide in your attachment. You should include the following information on each page of your submission:

• FCC Form 471 application number
• Funding Request Number
• Item 21 attachment number (the number you entered in Item 21 of the FCC Form 471)
• Name of the person that can answer questions about your submission along with contact information (email, fax number, and/or telephone number)
• Billed Entity Number

If your submission contains attachments for multiple FRNs, clearly identify the FRN associated with each attachment.

• To file by email, attach your completed attachment to an email message and email it to USAC.
• To file by fax, fax your completed attachment to (973) 599-6511.
• To file by mail, mail your completed attachment to SLD Forms, Form 471 - Item 21 Attachment, P.O. Box 7026, Lawrence, KS 66044-7026.
• To file using a delivery service, send your completed attachment to SLD Forms, ATTN: Form 471 - Item 21 Attachment, 3833 Greenway Drive, Lawrence, KS 66046, Telephone: 1-888-203-8100.

Again, for detailed information and examples, refer to the Item 21 Attachments guidance document on the USAC website.

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