September 22, 2017

Commitments for Funding Year 2017

Funding Year 2017. USAC is scheduled to release Funding Year (FY) 2017 Wave 18 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on September 29. As of September 22, FY2017 commitments total over $1.29 billion.

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

Update on Fall Training

USAC will be conducting in-person E-rate training sessions for 2017 at the following locations:

• Washington, DC area on October 10
• Charlotte, North Carolina on October 24
• Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 2

We are currently working on a fourth location and hope to announce that location soon. Please continue to watch the specific announcements for the training session you choose, as we will provide more details when they are available.

Program participants can register for any one of the available training sessions in the Upcoming Events section of the Trainings & Outreach page on the USAC website.

Note that attendees will make their own arrangements for hotels and meals.

It's Time to File Your Invoice Deadline Extension Requests

October 30, 2017 is the deadline for most applicants and service providers to:

• Submit invoices for FY2016 recurring services.
• Request an invoice deadline extension to invoice for those services.

Although the deadline actually falls on October 28, this deadline has been automatically extended to Monday, October 30 because the date falls on a Saturday.

Applicants and service providers can also request a one-time, 120-day extension of the deadline to file an invoice. We suggest that you request an extension as soon as you realize that you might need one. There is no penalty for requesting an extension and then submitting your invoices on time.

• Invoice Deadline Extension tool
  • Processing requests through this tool is an automated one-step process. The tool provides an onscreen notification immediately after you submit your request, followed shortly by an email message and an update to the Funding Request Number (FRN) record in the FRN Extension Table.
  • Requests in this tool must be submitted one FRN at a time. This tool is more convenient to use if you have fewer than 25 FRNs to enter.
• Submit a Question
  • Processing requests through this tool is a manual multi-step process. It takes an average of 30 days to process a request, although it can take longer.
  • This tool is more convenient to use if you have 25 or more FRNs to enter, as you can enter all of them in a single request using the text field provided.

Invoice Deadline Extension tool

Applicants and service providers can request an extension automatically by using this tool.

To use the Invoice Deadline Extension tool to extend the deadline for filing an invoice (either an FCC Form 472, Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Form or an FCC Form 474, Service Provider Invoice Form), both applicants and service providers must first log in to their respective versions of the online BEAR.

• For an applicant to access the tool:
  • Log in to the online BEAR Form. You can also go to the Forms page on the USAC website and click the File Online button under the FCC Form 472 section. You will be taken to the BEAR Form home screen.
  • Click the Deadline Extension link on the right-hand side of the blue bar at the top of the screen.
• For a service provider to access the tool:
  • Log in to the E-File System.
  • If you have more than one Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN), choose the appropriate SPIN and click Set.
  • Click the 472 Online BEAR link from the left-hand menu. You will be taken to the BEAR Form home screen.
  • Click the Deadline Extension link on the right-hand side of the blue bar at the top of the screen.

After you have click the Deadline Extension link:

• Enter the FRN.
• The screen will display the details of the FRN – the FCC Form 471 application number, FRN, Billed Entity Number (BEN), Service Provider, Commitment Status, Committed Amount, Amounts Disbursed on the FRN, and current Last Date to Invoice – so that you can verify that you entered the correct FRN.
• To request an invoice deadline extension for this FRN, click Submit.

You will receive an automatic approval or denial message on your screen and USAC will also send you an email containing the same message. (Note that the email will come from the sender no-reply and the USAC domain, so the email may be blocked if you do not add this information to your safe senders list.) Additionally, if your request is approved, the FRN Extension Table will immediately be updated with the extended deadline.

Submit a Question

You can also use Submit a Question to submit your request. Although you can submit multiple FRNs in one request, remember that our average processing time is 30 days.

To submit your request:

• Go to Submit a Question.
• On the Submit a Question page, click the Continue button.
• Choose Invoice Deadline Extension Request from the Topic Inquiry menu.
• Choose Other from the Specific Inquiry menu and click the Continue button.
• Fill in the required contact information. Choose "No" to indicate that you are not including attachments. Then click the Continue button.
• In the text box marked Questions? indicate that you are requesting an invoice deadline extension, and provide the FRNs to be extended. You do not need to provide a reason or an explanation.
• When you are finished, click the Submit button.

Please note it will take additional time for USAC to process invoice deadline extension requests that are submitted though Submit a Question. Generally we can complete the processing of these requests within 30 days, but it can take longer.

Note: A request for an invoice deadline extension for a FRN through Submit a Question only needs to be submitted once. An applicant, a service provider, and a consultant could all submit requests for an invoice deadline extension for the same FRN, because they are all featured in the FRN record. Requestors may also submit additional requests if they believe the first one was not received. However, multiple requests often result in processing delays, because each request must be researched and adjudicated separately.

Invoice deadline extension requests will be denied for the following reasons:

• The entire commitment on the FRN has already been paid.
• An invoice deadline extension request has already been requested and approved. For example, your service provider may have submitted a request, or you or someone in your organization may have used Submit a Question to submit a request. Before you submit a request, check the FRN Extension Table to determine if the invoice deadline has already been extended.
• The FRN has already received one 120-day invoice deadline extension. USAC cannot approve a second 120-day extension. You can check the FRN Extension Table to determine the invoice deadline date.
• USAC has not yet made a commitment on the FRN.
• The FRN was denied.
• The FRN is not associated with your login credentials.
• The request was made after the last date to invoice. 

EPC Interface Updates Coming Soon

In the upcoming weeks, you may notice some minor cosmetic changes in the user interface in EPC, including changes to colors, shapes, and fonts. In addition, some pages will feature menus at the top of the page rather than on the left-hand side, and there will be a new password reset screen. If you have any questions, feel free to open a customer service case in EPC or call the Client Service Bureau (CSB) at (888) 203-8100.