December 9, 2016

Commitments for Funding Years 2016

Funding Year 2016. USAC is scheduled to release Funding Year (FY) 2016 Wave 25 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on December 12. These waves include commitments for approved applications for all service types and at all discount levels. As of December 9, FY2016 commitments total over $1.17 billion.

On the date the FCDLs are issued, you can access your FCDL notification from the Notifications section of your landing page in the E-rate Productivity Center (EPC).

Appealing USAC Decisions on Invoices

October 28, 2016 was the deadline for submitting invoices to USAC for FY2015 recurring services. This invoice deadline applies to both the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) FCC Form 472 and the Service Provider Invoice (SPI) FCC Form 474. Many applicants and service providers submitted invoices on or shortly before this deadline, and USAC is working through the processing of those invoices.

If USAC does not approve payment in full for an invoice, the applicant or the service provider can file an appeal of that decision with USAC if the invoice is timely filed – in the case of FY2015 recurring services, if the invoice was submitted on or before October 28.

• The deadline for appealing USAC decisions on BEAR Forms is 60 days after the date of the BEAR Notification Letter. If you have questions about a BEAR Notification Letter, you can call the Client Service Bureau (CSB) at 888-203-8100.
• The deadline for appealing USAC decisions on SPI Forms is 60 days after USAC issues the Remittance Statement. As a reminder, the Remittance Statement is emailed to the Schools and Libraries Contact specified by the service provider on the FCC Form 498, or the General Contact if a Schools and Libraries Contact is not specified. If you have questions about a Remittance Statement, you can call the Customer Contact Center at 888-641-8722, option 5.
• If the invoice was timely filed, applicants and service providers should NOT file an invoice deadline waiver request with the FCC. Doing so will delay action on your issue and may cause you to miss the 60-day appeal deadline.

To file an invoice appeal with USAC, follow the steps outlined in the Appeals and Audits page on the USAC website. Be sure to address all six steps in the section "What to Include in an Appeal":

• Identify the applicant or service provider who is filing the appeal (name and entity number or SPIN).
• Include the contact information for the person who can discuss the appeal with USAC in detail – name, address, telephone number, and email address.
• Provide documentation of USAC's decision (i.e., a copy of USAC's decision letter).
• Add any supporting documentation, such as forms and previous correspondence.
• Identify the problem(s) and the reason for the appeal.
• Explain precisely the relief sought through the appeal.

We strongly encourage you to file your appeal by email and identify it as an invoice appeal.

If you requested and received an invoice deadline extension, it is not necessary to appeal the decision on the original invoice if the problem(s) identified on USAC's notification (BEAR Notification Letter or Remittance Statement) can be corrected. In this case, simply submit a new and correct invoice before the extended deadline. (Note that the deadline for submitting invoice deadline extension requests for FY2015 recurring services was extended from October 28, 2016 to October 31, 2016.)

USAC Seeks Volunteers for User Acceptance Testing

As USAC develops new online features and functions in EPC for use by program participants, we need volunteers to test these items and provide us with their feedback. This will allow us to make any necessary improvements or consider any enhancements that we can put into place before we release the items for general use.

If you would like to assist us with this User Acceptance Testing (UAT) effort, you can send us an email and request that we add you to our UAT volunteer list. Please enter "UAT Volunteer" in the subject line of your email.

We appreciate your assistance as we continue to improve our user experience.

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