March 7, 2014

Commitments for Funding Years 2013 and 2012

Funding Year 2013. USAC will release Funding Year (FY) 2013 Wave 42 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) March 12. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 1 (Telecommunications Services and Internet Access) requests at all discount levels and denials for Priority 2 (Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance) requests at 90 percent and below. As of March 7, FY2013 commitments total over $1.95 billion.

Funding Year 2012. USAC will release FY2012 Wave 80 FCDLs March 13. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 2 requests at 90 percent and denials at 89 percent and below. As of March 7, FY2012 commitments total just under $2.86 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.

"470 But No 471" Email Notifications

Each year, USAC sends a notification to applicants that have timely posted an FCC Form 470 to the USAC website but not yet filed an FCC Form 471 funding request citing that FCC Form 470. USAC issues this notification shortly after the last day to post an FCC Form 470 but in time to complete all of the program activities necessary to file an FCC Form 471 by the close of the filing window.

Yesterday, USAC prepared an email to each FCC Form 470 contact person with a timely posted FCC Form 470 not cited on any FCC Form 471 Block 5 funding request (Item 11 on the form) as of March 3. For each unique email address, this email contained all FCC Form 470 application numbers – just under 24,180 in all – and all associated Billed Entity Numbers that met this criterion.

Please note: This is not a notification to file an FCC Form 471 as soon as possible. Applicants must still wait at least 28 days after the posting of the FCC Form 470 – or the public availability of a Request for Proposal (RFP), if one was issued – before  choosing a service provider, signing a contract (if applicable), and signing and submitting the FCC Form 471 by 11:59 PM EDT on March 26.

Service Provider Training Announced

Each year, USAC conducts two training sessions in the spring targeted for service providers and eight training sessions in the fall targeted for applicants. The two spring 2014 service provider trainings will be held on the following dates and locations:

• Thursday, May 8 at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, Tampa, Florida.
• Tuesday, May 13 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, Los Angeles, California.

You can register for a training session and find information on hotel reservations by visiting the Trainings & Outreach page on the USAC website. Note that the cutoff dates for making hotel reservations at the conference room rate are April 3 for the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay and April 15 for the Westin Los Angeles Airport.

Filing Window Reminders

General Reminders

1. Don’t put Priority 1 (P1) and Priority 2 (P2) funding requests on the same FCC Form 471. Doing so can significantly delay your funding decisions on the P1 funding requests.

2. If you don’t have entity numbers, you can request them from the Client Service Bureau through Submit a Question, by fax at 1-888-276-8736, or by phone at 1-888-203-8100. You will need entity numbers for the Block 1 applicant and all Block 4 recipients of service.

3. If you are filing online, be sure to click the Submit button, choose your method of certification (online or on paper), and complete the certification process.

4. If you will receive services under a contract, sign and date your contract ON OR AFTER your allowable contract date and BEFORE you submit your FCC Form 471.

Deadlines

1. The FCC Form 471 application filing window will close at 11:59 PM EDT on Wednesday, March 26. Both your FCC Form 471 and your Item 21 attachment(s) must be received or postmarked before the window closes.

2. You must wait until your Allowable Contract Date (28 days after the FCC Form 470 was posted) before you can file an FCC Form 471 that cites that FCC Form 470.

FCC Form 471 Block 1

1. If you don’t yet have an FCC Registration Number (FCC RN) for the Block 1 applicant, you can apply for one on the Commission Registration (CORES) System section of the FCC website. You must have an FCC RN to complete Block 1 of the form.

2. If a consultant has a new employee, the consultant must contact the Client Service Bureau to add the employee to the drop-down menu in the online form (Item 6g). Entries cannot be typed into this field.

FCC Form 471 Block 4 Worksheets

1. If you are applying for a new entity, make sure you have supporting documentation to show that it is eligible for participation in the program.

2. Keep documentation that supports your discount calculations – National School Lunch Program (NSLP) eligibility, Direct Certification numbers, alternate discount mechanisms, etc. – so that it will be available for application review.

3. If you have NCES codes for schools or FSCS codes for libraries, make sure you have them handy when you file. These codes are not assigned by USAC, but you can search for them on the Search for Schools, Colleges, and Libraries page of the NCES website.

FCC Form 471 Block 5 Funding Requests

1. If you are requesting Telecommunications Services, make sure the service provider you choose is eligible to provide them. You can use the SPIN Contact Search Tool and the notes accompanying your search results to get this information, or ask your service provider.

2. For assistance in completing the new Item 24, review the guidance provided in the February 21 SL News Brief and the FCC Form 471 instructions.

FCC Form 471 Block 6 Certifications

1. In Item 26d, provide a total budgeted amount for necessary resources not eligible for E-rate support, such as computers, training, software, internal connections, maintenance, and electrical capacity necessary to use the services purchased effectively. Entering zero – unless zero is truly the correct answer – can delay the processing of your application.

2. If you are required to have a technology plan, remember to get your plan approved by a USAC-certified technology plan approver before services start for FY2014.

Item 21 Attachments

1. Review the Item 21 attachment guidance document on the USAC website for details needed for review, examples, and submission options. If you are not filing online, remember to note the attachment number you provided on your FCC Form 471 funding request (Block 5, Item 21).

2. If your request includes equipment, provide the make and model number for each piece of equipment. Your application reviewer will ask for this information if it is not already included.

3. If you are applying for telephone service, provide the number of lines. Not providing this information – or entering one or zero – will delay the processing of your application.

4. Remember to click the Submit button if you have completed your entries in your online Item 21 attachment. Your attachment is not visible to USAC until you click this button.

Contact the Client Service Bureau (CSB) if you have questions.

You can Submit a Question online, fax your question to 1-888-276-8736, or call 1-888-203-8100.  

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