August 9, 2013 

Commitments for Funding Years 2013 and 2012

Funding Year 2013. USAC will release Funding Year (FY) 2013 Wave 13 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) August 14. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 1 (Telecommunications Services and Internet Access) requests at all discount levels. As of August 9, FY2013 commitments total over $338 million and encompass 18,555 of FY2013 applications.

Funding Year 2012. USAC will release FY2012 Wave 55 FCDLs August 15. 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 August 9, FY2012 commitments total over $2.71 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.

Update on Online Invoicing

The new FCC Form 474 (SPI Form) is now available online. Following are changes to the new form compared to the old form:

• The fifth item on the old (April 2007) form, Invoice Number, has been renamed Service Provider Form Identifier and moved to the top left-hand corner of the form.
• The sixth item on the old form, Invoice Date to USAC, has been removed.
• A new item, Discount Rate, has been added as Column 12 in Block 2.
• Items and columns have been renumbered to accommodate the above changes, and unnecessary or confusing text has been removed.
• The authorized person certifying the form must provide identification and contact information in the new Items 14 - 19.

If you need assistance in completing the new (July 2013) version of the form, you can refer to the FCC Form 474 Instructions posted on the Forms page of the USAC website or call the Client Service Bureau (CSB).

Work on the new online FCC Form 472 (BEAR Form) continues, with a targeted completion date later this month. To assist applicants using the new form, USAC has added fill-in, print-out capability to the July 2013 PDF version of the form. Please note the following:

• The information you provide in Block 1 of the form (the Applicant Form Identifier and Items 1, 2, 4, and 5) automatically populates in the headers of subsequent pages of the form. If you notice a mistake in a header, you must fix it in the related Block 1 entry.
• Block 1, Item 6, Total Reimbursement Amount, will automatically update after you complete each line of information in Block 2.
• Check the information you enter in Block 2 very carefully. The FCC Form 471 Application Number, Funding Request Number, and Discount Rate must be consistent with the information in your FCDL (or Revised FCDL if one was issued).
• Be sure to complete the Applicant Remittance Information at the bottom of page 4 before you send your form to your service provider. The service provider can then use this information to issue BEAR payments if you have not made other arrangements.

If you need assistance, refer to the FCC Form 472 Instructions posted on the Forms page or call CSB.

Consultant Registration Numbers

Now that applicants are filing FCC Forms 470 for FY2014, we are providing the information below for those applicants that are using consultants and need more information on Consultant Registration Numbers to complete Item 7 of the form.

What is the definition of a consultant?

A consultant is any non-employee of the entity applying for funding that assists in filling out the application materials for a fee. Consultants may be organizations with one or more employees or they may be individuals.

The term "consultant" below refers to the name – whether an organization or an individual – linked to the Consultant Registration Number and entered in the "Consultant Name" field on the FCC Form 470.

What is a Consultant Registration Number?

A Consultant Registration Number (CRN) is a unique eight-digit identification number assigned by USAC to a specific consultant. Employees of a consultant will not be required to obtain individual CRNs but will use the CRN of the consultant.

If a consultant is assisting an applicant with the application process, the consultant's CRN is entered in Block 1, Item 7 of the FCC Form 470 and/or Block 1, Item 6g of the FCC Form 471.

How does a consultant obtain a CRN?

To get a CRN, a consultant should call the Client Service Bureau (CSB) at 1-888-203-8100 and be prepared to provide the following consultant information:

• Consultant Name
• Consultant Street Address, City, State, and Zip Code
• Consultant Telephone Number
• Consultant Fax Number
• Consultant Email Address

If the consultant has one or more employees, the following information is required for each employee:

• Employee Name
• Employee Telephone Number
• Employee Email Address

CSB will first search by zip code, then by street address, to find out if USAC already has a CRN on file. If so – and if there are no changes to any of the contact information – CSB can provide the CRN over the phone.

If CSB must create a new record, or if there are changes required to an existing record, CSB will request that the changes be sent by fax to 1-888-276-8736 or by email. After the record has been created or updated, CSB can reply to the fax or email and provide the CRN.

How does an applicant find the CRN for its consultant?

If the consultant is completing a form on behalf of the applicant, the consultant can enter the CRN. If the applicant is completing a form, the applicant can obtain the CRN from the consultant or call CSB. CSB can provide the CRN over the telephone as long as the applicant provides enough information for CSB to identify a specific consultant.

• Consultants and applicants filing online should check after entering the CRN to verify that the correct consultant information is populated in the form.

Where is consultant information located on FCC Form 470 and FCC Form 471?

Consultant information is entered in Block 1, Item 7 of the FCC Form 470 and Block 1, Item 6g of the FCC Form 471. Applicants filing online will enter the CRN, and consultant contact information will populate automatically. If the consultant has employees, those employee names will be populated in a drop-down menu and the applicant can choose the appropriate employee.

Applicants filing on paper must complete all relevant fields.

©1997-2013, Universal Service Administrative Company, All Rights Reserved.
USAC | 2000 L Street NW | Suite 200 | Washington, DC 20036