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February 21, 2014

FY2014 WINDOW COUNTDOWN

Days to window close

33

FCC Forms 470 filed to date

31,272

FCC Forms 471 filed to date

6,970

Online Item 21 attachments filed to date

15,208

 

TIP OF THE WEEK: Next Wednesday, February 26, is the last day to POST an FY2014 FCC Form 470 to the USAC website and still be able to timely file your FY2014 FCC Form 471. When you file your form online, it is posted as soon as you click the green "Submit" button on the last page.

Commitments for Funding Years 2013 and 2012

Funding Year 2013. USAC will release Funding Year (FY) 2013 Wave 40 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) February 26. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 1 (Telecommunications Services and Internet Access) requests at all discount levels. As of February 21, FY2013 commitments total over $1.86 billion.

Funding Year 2012. USAC will release FY2012 Wave 78 FCDLs February 27. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 2 (Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance) requests at 90% and denials at 89% and below. As of February 21, FY2012 commitments total over $2.85 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.

Completing FCC Form 471 Item 24

Item 24, Description of broadband and other connectivity services, is a new item for FY2014. Completing this item accurately will help document the impact of the universal service program for schools and libraries across the country, and allow comparisons of that impact from year to year.

If you are requesting discounts in either Telecommunications Services or Internet Access for the purpose of providing broadband and other connectivity to schools and/or libraries, you must complete Item 24 for each applicable FRN. Your responses are not a substitute for your Item 21 attachment, but they should be consistent with it.

Here is how Item 24 appears on the online FCC Form 471 (showing the dropdown menu described below):

Item 24 checkbox

If you are not requesting services or equipment that provide broadband or connectivity, check the first box and skip the remaining fields for Item 24.

Also, if your Internet access request does not include the circuit (i.e., does not contain transport), you can check this box and skip the remaining fields for Item 24.

Item 24a - List of services, lines, and download speeds

In this item you list the number of lines and the average speed for the lines included in the funding request. All filers that are requesting services or equipment that provide broadband or connectivity must complete this item. If you are not sure of the correct answer for one or more of your entries, we suggest that you ask your service provider for details.

If you are filing online, a dropdown menu appears when you click the arrow below the caption "Type of Connection." The menu includes the following types:

  • Dial-up
  • T1/DS-1
  • T3/DS-3
  • Fiber optic/OC-x
  • Cable
  • DSL
  • Satellite
  • Cellular wireless
  • Non-cellular wireless (e.g., microwave)

Choose the type of connection you would like to enter on the first line, and fill in the number of lines and the download speed per line in Mbps.

  • Some types of connections (dial-up, T1/DS-1, and T3/DS-3) have a standard speed which will populate automatically. For these types, provide only the number of lines.
  • If you have multiple speeds for the lines within one type of broadband connection, create a separate row for each unique speed that includes the number of lines at that speed.
  • For dial-up, T1/DS-1, and T3/DS-3 services only, if the speed of your connection is not indicated, choose the next higher speed. For example, if you have a fractional T1, choose the category "T1/DS-1" for your entry. For any other service, you may enter the exact speed in the "Download Speed per line in Mbps" field.

Item 24b – Internet service in multiple locations or offices

Items 24b1 and 24b2 relate to connectivity to the Internet available to students or patrons in more than just a single location or office within a school or library. All filers requesting connections to the Internet (either directly or indirectly) that are available in one or more school classrooms or public library areas must complete this item.

  • If the access is provided by wired connections, indicate in Item 24b1 the approximate percentage of school classrooms or public library areas that will have access to wired drops.
  • If the access is provided by Wi-Fi connections, indicate in Item 24b2 the approximate percentage of school classrooms or public library areas that will have access to a Wi-Fi signal.
Please note the following:
  • The percentages should be calculated independently for each item – the sum of the two items need not equal 100%.
  • You can enter a zero ("0") if no school classrooms or public library areas have access to wired drops or a Wi-Fi signal. You can also enter zero if the service is not available to students or patrons in more than a single location or office.
  • If you are filing a consortium or state network application, use a calculation that will give the most accurate picture of overall coverage for your members. As an example, if you have a consortium of school districts, you could ask each member for (1) the total number of classrooms in the school district, (2) the number of classrooms with access to wired drops, and (3) the number of classrooms with access to a Wi-Fi signal. You can then calculate the appropriate percentages. As another example, you could ask each member for the two percentages for its district and then calculate either a simple average or weighted average of the reported member percentages.

Item 24c - Last mile/backbone connections for consortia and statewide applications

Item 24c seeks specific information from applicants filing consortium and statewide applications.

  • For the first question, indicate if the connections include the last mile connection to the school or library.
  • For the second question, if you checked "No" in the first checkbox, indicate if the connections are only for backbone connections.

Note that the last mile connection specified for the first checkbox is the last mile to the individual school or library buildings. If there is a regional wide area network where the connection goes to the district's head-end, it would be a last mile connection if the district head-end is a school building.

You can also review the FCC Form 471 instructions for Item 24 if you have questions.

 

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