Commitments for Funding Years 2014 and 2013

Funding Year 2014. USAC will release Funding Year (FY) 2014 Wave 48 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on April 8. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 1 (Telecommunications Services and Internet Access) requests at all discount levels. As of April 3, FY2014 commitments total over $2.18 billion. 

Funding Year 2013. USAC will release FY2013 Wave 86 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on April 10. This wave includes commitments for approved Priority 1 requests at all discount levels. As of April 3, FY2013 commitments total over $2.15 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.

CSB Extended Hours

As in the past, the Client Service Bureau extends its hours of operation near the close of the application filing window to assist applicants with any last-minute issues. This year, we are extending our hours starting Monday to make sure applicants have more time to ask for assistance.

Please feel free to contact us during these additional hours – either through Submit a Question or by phone at (888) 203-8100 – through the close of the application filing window. All times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

Filing Guidance for Educational Service Agencies (ESAs)

An Educational Service Agency (ESA) is a regional public multiservice agency authorized by state statute to develop, manage, and provide services or programs to local educational agencies. ESAs are known by a variety of names, including Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs), Intermediate Units (IUs), and Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).

In many states, ESAs provide elementary or secondary education as determined under state law and are eligible for E-rate discounts on services provided to them and their members. For more information on the eligibility of ESAs, you can refer to the guidance on ESAs and the Eligibility Table for Educational Service Agencies on the USAC website. 

ESAs that have applied for E-rate discounts in the past may have to modify the way they apply for discounts in FY2015 because of changes to the online FCC Form 471. We are providing the guidance below to assist ESAs to complete their applications correctly.

Situation 1. An ESA without any schools of its own, comprised entirely of non-instructional facilities (NIFs), recognized by the state as a school district, and filing its own application.

Here's how to file the FCC Form 471 online for this situation:

• In the Basic Information section, select School District.
• In the Discount Calculation section, list all the individual schools in the ESA’s service area along with the NIFs, as if the ESA were one giant school district. The system will determine the urban or rural status for each school. (NIFs do not have an urban or rural status).
• Enter the total number of students in all schools and the total number of students in all schools eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in all schools. With these totals and the urban or rural status for each school, the system will correctly calculate the discount rate.
• In the Funding Request, the ESA will be able to select its NIFs as recipients of service.

These ESAs are not eligible for any Category Two funding, but remain eligible for Category One funding.

Situation 2. An ESA that has its own schools, is recognized by the state as a school district, and filing its own application.

Here's how to file the FCC Form 471 online for this situation:

• In the Basic Information section, select School District.
• In the Discount Calculation section, list all the ESA’s schools along with any ESA NIFs, as if the ESA is a regular school district. The system will determine the urban or rural status for each school. (NIFs do not have an urban or rural status.)
• Enter the total number of students in the ESA's schools and the total number of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in the ESA's schools. With these totals and the urban or rural status for each school, the system will correctly calculate the discount rate.
• In the Funding Requests section, the ESA can then select its schools and/or NIFs as recipients of service.

Situation 3. An ESA comprised entirely of NIFs, filing a consortium application where the ESA is also a member of the consortium.

Here's how to file the FCC Form 471 online for this situation:

• In the Basic Information section, select Consortium.
• In the Discount Calculation section, create an entry for each of the school districts that will be receiving service on the application. (On the screen labeled "Schools, School Districts, Libraries, and Library Systems," enter the entity number for each school district – either one at a time or all together but separated by commas – and click "Add Entity.")
• For each school district entity, complete the list of individual schools in that school district by clicking either its name on the list or the button "Enter Data" to its right.
• Choose one of the school districts and add all of the ESA's NIFs to that school district.
• In the Narrative for the Key Information for the first funding request on the application, indicate which NIFs belong to the ESA and with which school district they were placed. NOTE: Including the ESA's NIFs in a school district will not affect the discount rate as the NIFs do not have any students or an urban or rural status.
• In the Funding Requests section, the ESA can then select its NIFs as recipients of service along with any other consortium members receiving service.

As in Situation 1 above, these ESA's NIFs are not eligible for Category Two funding, but remain eligible for Category One funding.

Situation 4. An ESA that has its own schools, and is filing a consortium application.

Here's how to file the FCC Form 471 online for this situation:

• In the Basic Information section, select Consortium.
• In the Discount Calculation section, create an entry for each of the school districts that will be receiving service on the application. (On the screen labeled "Schools, School Districts, Libraries, and Library Systems," enter the entity number for each school district – either one at a time or all together but separated by commas – and click "Add Entity.")
• Also create an entry for the ESA as if it were a school district.
• For each school district entity, complete the list of individual schools in that school district by clicking either its name on the list or the button "Enter Data" to its right.
• Similarly, for the ESA school district entity, complete the list of the ESA's individual schools and its NIFs.

This situation would then be like any other consortium, with school district member entities and with an ESA member entity, each featuring its appropriate individual schools and NIFs.