Commitments for Funding Year 2014

Funding Year 2014. USAC will release Funding Year (FY) 2014 Wave 39 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on February 4. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 1 (Telecommunications Services and Internet Access) requests at all discount levels. As of January 30, FY2014 commitments total over $2.12 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.

FCC Form 471 Category Two Budget Calculation Updated for Libraries

In the E-rate Modernization Order, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a $2.30 per square foot pre-discount Category Two budget for libraries, with a funding floor of $9,200. In the Second E-rate Modernization Order, the FCC adopted a separate budget of $5.00 per square foot for libraries located in cities and urbanized areas with a population of 250,000 or more, as identified by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) locale codes of 11, 12, and 21.

This change will provide higher funding per square foot for those libraries located in the most densely populated areas, using the IMLS locale codes of "11 – City, Large," "12 – City, Midsize," and "21 – Suburb, Large." These three locale codes capture urbanized areas within principal cities with a population over 100,000 and those areas outside of a principal city, but within an urbanized area with a population of over 250,000.

USAC has now modified the online FCC Form 471 to calculate the higher Category Two budget for libraries located in these densely populated areas. Starting on January 29, libraries that USAC has identified as eligible for the $5.00 per square foot calculation will see the higher pre-discount budget number when they complete the Discount Calculation section of the form.

Please note that there are two groups of libraries that will not see the higher budget calculation:

• Libraries eligible for the higher budget calculation that filed an FCC Form 471 before January 29 and
• Libraries for which we have not yet been able to determine their eligibility for the higher budget calculation.

We are working to update our records to make sure that we have information on all of the libraries that will be eligible for the higher budget calculation. During PIA review, we will reach out to those libraries eligible for the higher budget calculation and update their forms appropriately.

FCC Form 470 Deadline Reminder

February 26, 2015 is the last day to POST an FCC Form 470 and still have time to submit an FCC Form 471. If you file your FCC Form 470 on February 26, you must complete all of the following on March 26, the day the filing window closes:

• Select a service provider
• Sign a contract (if applicable)
• Submit your FCC Form 471 online.

We suggest that you file your FCC Form 470 as soon as possible. This will give you more time to review and prepare to file your FCC Form 471, because that form is significantly different from last year's form. Also, if there is an issue with your FCC Form 470, you will still have time to correct the issue and – if necessary – file a new form.