April 7, 2017

Commitments for Funding Year 2016

Funding Year 2016. USAC is scheduled to release Funding Year (FY) 2016 Wave 42 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on April 13. This wave includes commitments for approved applications for all service types and at all discount levels. As of April 7, FY2016 commitments total over $2.42 billion.

NOTE: Wave 41 FCDLs were issued earlier today, April 7.

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).

Extended CSB Hours for FCC Form 470 Deadline

The Client Service Bureau (CSB) will be open an additional two hours in the evening next week to help applicants concerned about meeting the April 13, 2017 FCC Form 470 deadline for FY2017.

You can call CSB next week at 888-203-8100 during the following hours:

• Tuesday, April 11: 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM EDT
• Wednesday, April 12: 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM EDT
• Thursday, April 13: 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM EDT.  

Updated Category Two (C2) Budget Tool Available

Applicants and service providers can now find an updated version of the C2 budget tool on the USAC website. This tool is designed to assist applicants by providing both FY2015 and FY2016 C2 budget calculations and commitment information.

To use the tool, enter the entity numbers of the entities you want to review. Enter up to 100 entity numbers, separated by commas (no spaces). You can also search for entity numbers by clicking the magnifying glass to the right of the Entity Number header. After you have entered your entity numbers, click the button labeled Lookup C2 Budget Status.

Error messages

Any entity numbers that do not generate results will appear first with an appropriate error message. There are three possible errors:

• The entity number does not exist in our system.
• The entity is not eligible for a C2 budget (because it is a school district, library system, consortium, or non-instructional facility).
• The system does not have enough information to calculate a C2 budget (for example, because the entity does not appear on an FY2015 FCC Form 471 or does not have a complete profile in EPC).

Entities with C2 budgets

All entities from your search list that have C2 budgets will appear under the heading Category Two Budget Status. Each entity will appear on its own line and display the entity number followed by the entity name.

To see the C2 budget calculation for the entity for both funding years, click the plus sign ("+") to the left of the entity number.

• In each line, you will see the funding year, the entity's calculated C2 budget for that funding year, the total pre-discount amount approved by USAC for both funding years for that entity, and the remaining balance for that funding year.
• Remember that the C2 budget calculation can change from funding year to funding year, due to (1) a change in the number of students (schools) or the square footage (libraries) and/or (2) a change in the per-student or per-square foot multiplier adjusted for inflation (see chart below).
• Because there were no entity profiles in FY2015, the C2 budget line for FY2015 will be blank if no FCC Forms 471 were filed for FY2015.
• The tool will show the C2 budget calculation for the entity based on the entity's profile in EPC until USAC has issued a funding commitment featuring that entity. After the FCDL is issued, the tool will show the budget calculation based on the approved information from the FCC Form 471. 

To see the details for the total pre-discount amount approved for both funding years, click the plus sign to the left of the two funding years.

• You will see the details of all allocations to the entity's C2 budget from all FY2015 and FY2016 funding request number (FRN) line items, grouped by FCC Form 471. The FCC Form 471 number and the Billed Entity that filed that form appear at the top of each group, followed by the FRN line item details in numerical order.
  • The column labeled Requested pre-discount is the pre-discount amount requested on the FCC Form 471 FRN line item for that entity.
  • The column labeled Approved pre-discount is the pre-discount amount approved by USAC on the FCC Form 471 FRN line item for that entity. If this amount is zero, check the FRN status.
  • The FRN status is Funded (for FY2015 only, Funded is displayed as Committed-full), Pending, Denied, or Canceled.

Calculating your C2 budget for FY2017

To calculate the amount remaining in your C2 budget for FY2017, calculate your C2 budget using your FY2017 student counts or square footage and the appropriate multiplier in the table below, then subtract the amounts already committed for FY2015 and FY2016 (the amount labeled Approved Pre-Discount in the center of the budget lines of the tool). Note that amounts already committed for previous funding years can change as a result of appeals, updated student counts, COMADs, and other adjustments made in those years.

C2 budget calculation reminders

To calculate the C2 budget, the number of students in a school or the number of square feet in a library is multiplied by a specific dollar figure, which is adjusted each year for inflation. If the C2 budget calculation results in a dollar figure below the budget floor for the funding year, the budget floor becomes the C2 budget amount for that funding year.

- School calculation

Add the number of full-time students and the maximum number of part-time students ("peak part-time students" in your entity profile) at the same time during the school day. Multiply that number by the appropriate factor from the table above.

• Students attending after-school activities or after-school events and students who attend a virtual class that originates at a school but who are not on the school premises cannot be included in the student counts.

- Library calculation

Determine the square footage of the library by totaling the square footage for all floors occupied by the library and enclosed by the outer walls of the library, including non-public areas. Multiply that number by the appropriate factor from the table above.

• You can locate your Institute of Library Services (IMLS) code by contacting your state library or IMLS, or by downloading and reviewing the CSV files from the FY2014 Public Library Survey (PLS) featured on the PLS Data and Reports page on the IMLS website. 

Helping Applicants to Succeed (HATS)

The Helping Applicants to Succeed (HATS) training and outreach program has permanently ended. However there are multiple resources available to E-rate participants who have questions or are in need of training.

• Read the weekly Schools and Libraries Program News Brief to receive information about upcoming deadlines, tips to help you through the application process, and training events.
• Go to the Apply for E-rate page for an overview of the applicant and service provider processes and user guides.
• Visit our Online Learning Library to view step-by-step video tutorials and archived webinar recordings. This week's beginner webinar series will be posted soon.
• Schools and libraries in Tribal communities are invited to sign up for Tribal Training.
• Service providers and consultants are encouraged to sign up for targeted webinars conducted through the year.

We are always here to help. You can contact our Client Service Bureau at (888) 203-8100 to speak with someone about your questions on weekdays from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM EDT or open a customer service case in EPC. To open a customer service case, select the "Contact Us" link from the upper right menu on your EPC account landing page.