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January 24, 2014
FY2014 WINDOW COUNTDOWN
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Days to window close
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61
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FCC Forms 470 filed to date
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22,837
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FCC Forms 471 filed to date
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1,420
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Online Item 21 attachments filed to date
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2,579
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TIP OF THE WEEK: If you are filing your Item 21 attachments by email, fax, or paper, be sure to clearly identify their associated FRNs and FCC Form 471 application numbers. These numbers should appear (1) in the body of your email, (2) on your fax cover sheet, or (3) on the first page of your paper submission that is mailed or sent by delivery service.
Commitments for Funding Year 2013
Funding Year 2013. USAC will release Funding Year (FY) 2013 Wave 36 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) January 30. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 1 (Telecommunications Services and Internet Access) requests at all discount levels. As of January 24, FY2013 commitments total over $1.77 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.
Training Site Update
The Schools and Libraries Training Site can be used to practice filing and certifying program forms online or to train others in the online filing process.
At first glance, the Training Site appears identical to the Apply Online page. The Training Site, however, is specifically designed for training and practice only. Forms filed or certified on this site will not be reviewed by USAC.
The following forms are available for training and practice on the Training Site:
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FCC Form 470
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FCC Form 470 Interview
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FCC Form 471, including the online Item 21 attachment
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FCC Form 471 Interview, including the online Item 21 attachment
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FCC Form 486
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FCC Form 486 Interview
Note: The online BEAR Form and the other functions in the Utilities column are currently unavailable.
Getting started
In order to use all of the features of the Training Site, use the following entity name and entity information created for use on this site:
| Billed Entity Name |
APPLICANT |
| Billed Entity Number |
145909 |
| Billed Entity Email |
applicant@usac.org |
| Personal Identification Number (PIN) |
Test2009 |
| Authorized Person Last Name |
Smith |
By using this entity name and number, you can:
- Practice filing as an individual school, a school district, a library, a consortium, or a statewide application.
- Enter any contact person name and contact information.
- Add any entities you choose in the FCC Form 471 Block 4 worksheet (except BEN 145909 in some cases).
While using the Training Site, we recommend that you:
- Disable popup blockers (to ensure that you receive all of the reminders and warning messages that guide you through the online application process); and
- Do not bookmark any of the internal pages on the Training Site (to avoid confusion between the Training Site and the actual Apply Online web pages). You can, however, bookmark the Training Site entry page or follow the link to the Training Site from the bottom of the Forms page on the USAC website.
Training Site instructions
FCC Form 470 and FCC Form 470 Interview
No special data are necessary to file an FCC Form 470 on the Training Site. If you wish, you can use data you are familiar with to file the form – your BEN, your address, your contact person. However, you cannot certify the form unless you use BEN 145909 as the Block 1 entity.
If you want to demonstrate how to enter information for a consultant, you can use Consultant Registration Number 16062359.
FCC Form 471 and FCC Form 471 Interview
On the Apply Online page, the FCC Form 471 for a funding year is not available online until the application filing window opens. However, on the Training Site, the application filing window has been pre-set to open July 1 and close the following June 30 in order to allow the FCC Form 471 to be accessible all year.
Other tips for FCC Form 471 include the following:
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For the entry in Item 3B, you can use 1234567890.
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To demonstrate how to enter information for a consultant, you can use Consultant Registration Number 16062359.
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If you use BEN 145909 as the Block 1 entity on the Training Site, you can create Block 4 worksheets using entities that correspond to the type of application you are filing, and you can certify your form on the Training Site using the PIN referenced above.
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To complete the data entry of a Block 5 funding request, you must enter the application number of an FCC Form 470 that has been posted for at least 28 days. You can use the "Search Posted" function in the Form 470 column on the Training Site to locate one. Note that you will receive a warning message if the category of service you enter in Item 11 was not included on the FCC Form 470 you cite.
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After you submit your form on the Training Site, you can file an Item 21 attachment on the Training Site by using your FCC Form 471 application number and security code.
FCC Form 486 and FCC Form 486 Interview
An FCC Form 486 can only be filed once for each Funding Request Number (FRN). For use on the Training Site, USAC created a list of Training Site FRNs – 100 FRNs, 25 for each of the four categories of service.
Each of these FRNs can be used only once each day. If someone else has already used one of the FRNs on the list on the day you are filing an FCC Form 486, simply choose a different FRN. While working on the FCC Form 486, remember the following:
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You must choose FY2012 (07/01/2012 – 06/30/2013) as the funding year.
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You must enter a service start date within FY2012 for each FRN in Item 7, Column E.
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The technology plan entries (Item 8) and the CIPA certifications (Item 11) must be consistent with the category of service of each FRN you enter in Item 7B or you will receive an error message and be unable to continue.
REMINDER: The Training Site appears identical to the Apply Online page. The Training Site, however, is for training and practice only. Forms filled out and filed or certified on this site will not be reviewed by USAC staff.
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