November 17, 2017

Note that USAC will not issue an SL News Brief next Friday, November 24 due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, the Client Service Bureau (CSB) and USAC will be closed Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24.

Commitments for Funding Year 2017

Funding Year 2017. USAC is scheduled to release Funding Year (FY) 2017 Wave 26 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on November 24. As of November 17, FY2017 commitments total over $1.77 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).

Review and Update Your EPC Profiles Now

Each year, USAC updates applicant profiles in EPC using the reviewed and approved profile information from their current year FCC Forms 471. We do this so that applicants can start the application process for the upcoming funding year with information in their profiles that is accurate as of the date of their FCDL.

USAC has now completed this process for almost every applicant that had updates in advance of the FY2018 application cycle. All applicants can now review their profiles and make any additional updates for changes that occurred after USAC's review of their FY2017 FCC Forms 471.

Here are a few reminders of fields that you should check for accuracy:

School districts

• Verify that the FCC Registration Number (FCC RN) for your school district is correct. You do not need FCC RNs for each of your individual schools.
• Review the address and contact information for each of your individual schools and update it as needed. If a school has moved but the state still considers it to be the same school, just update its address – it does not need a new entity number.
• Update the student counts for the students attending each of your schools.
  • Use the most recent student information available, which may mean entering or keeping last year's numbers if you do not yet have this year's numbers.
  • Be sure to review your entries for the "peak part-time student counts" for each school. This is the greatest number of part-time students at a single point during the school day, NOT the total number of part-time students that attend the school during the course of the entire school day.
• Review the connectivity information that you entered in your profile last year for each school to make sure it is still accurate.

Library systems

• Verify that the FCC RN for your library system is correct. You do not need FCC RNs for each of your library branches.
• Review the address and contact information for each of your library branches and update it as needed. If a library branch has moved but the state still considers it to be the same library, just update its address – it does not need a new entity number.
• Review the entries for the square footage of each of your library branches to make sure they are correct.
• Verify that you have identified the library branch that serves as the main branch for your library system.
• Review the entries for the IMLS locale codes for each of your library branches, and provide entries for those that are blank.
• Review the connectivity information that you entered in your profile for each library branch last year to make sure it is still accurate.

Consortia

• Verify that the FCC RN for your consortium is correct.
• Review your list of consortium members to make sure it is accurate. You can easily add members to your consortium through the Manage Organization Relationships function in your profile.
• Remind your members to update their profiles so that the discount calculations on the forms you file will be accurate. Note that you are not required to update their connectivity information.

Notes for Applicants Filing FCC Forms 470 and 471 During the Second FY2017 Application Window

Applicants filing FCC Forms 470 and 471 during the Second FY2017 Application Window may be confused by two messages they will receive during the filing process. We are providing these notes to clarify that you can proceed with confidence in your application process notwithstanding the information in the messages.

28-day waiting period message

Applicants filing an FCC Form 470 during the Second FY2017 Application Window are required to wait at least 14 days – not at least 28 days – before selecting a service provider. However, the Receipt Notification Letter in your News feed in EPC still contains the 28-day message.

To determine your 14-day Allowable Contract Date (ACD), count forward 14 days from your FCC Form 470 certification date. For example, if you certified your FCC Form 470 on Wednesday, November 15, your ACD will be Wednesday, November 29.

Out-of-window messages

Applicants filing an FCC Form 471 may encounter an out-of-window message when they start their form, and another out-of-window message when they certify their form. As long as your form is certified by 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, December 13, your form will not be considered out-of-window.

We are working to update these messages to include a note about the Second FY2017 Application Window, but some applicants may still encounter the original message.

Update on Deadline Relief

In order DA 17-984, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) provided certain relief from program deadlines for program participants impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria (Hurricanes).

Specifically, schools and libraries located in areas of Texas, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands that have been designated as Major Disaster Areas eligible for Individual Assistance for the purposes of federal disaster relief by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who have already missed or will miss the deadline for one or more of the following forms or requests due to damage or disruption caused by the Hurricanes will have until March 5, 2018 to submit their form or request:

• Requests for review or waiver of decisions by USAC, directed to USAC or the FCC.
• FCC Form 486, Receipt of Service Confirmation and Children’s Internet Protection Act Certification (CIPA) Form.
• Filing FCC Form 472, Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Form, and FCC Form 474, Service Provider Invoice (SPI) Form.

In addition, the FY2016 deadline for delivery and installation for non-recurring services, other than special construction, for the above schools and libraries will be extended to September 30, 2018.

Schools and libraries that receive FY2017 commitments for special construction can request that their June 30, 2018 deadline to complete special construction and light the new fiber be extended to June 30, 2019. To request this extension, they must file a valid FCC Form 500, Funding Commitment Adjustment Request Form, certifying that construction for the special construction project was unavoidably delayed due to damage caused by the Hurricanes.

USAC has started work on a report in EPC that will list the individual schools, libraries, and non-instructional facilities (NIFs) located in the areas described above. The report is currently titled Export 2017 Hurricane Relief Entities Report.

• To view this report, go to the Actions tab in your EPC profile and click Export 2017 Hurricane Relief Entities Report. EPC will create a task for you in your Tasks menu labeled 2017 Hurricane Relief Entities Report. Click the task to access the report, which will appear in a spreadsheet format.

If you believe you are eligible for this relief but your entity does not appear in the report, please open a customer service case in EPC with the prefix H2017 in the case title. USAC will review your request and provide a response. You can also call CSB at 888-203-8100 so that they can open a case for you and provide you with the case number.

Appeals and waivers

File your appeal or waiver as usual, following the Appeals guidance on the USAC website. USAC and the FCC will use the above report to verify that your deadline to file has been extended to March 5, 2018, and will review your submission following normal procedures. If you file an appeal in EPC, it would be helpful to add the prefix H2017 to the nickname of your appeal. Parties who rely on this waiver as a basis for filing their request for review or waiver beyond the required deadline should indicate such basis in their filing.

FCC Form 486

USAC will use the above report to verify that your deadline to file has been extended. As long as you certify your form on or before March 5, 2018, our reviewers can correct any system-generated adjustment to your service start date that would otherwise occur, and you will not be penalized or your funding reduced based on your actual certification date.

FCC Forms 472 and 474

USAC will extend the invoice deadline to March 5, 2018 for Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) that feature the BENs of the entities in the above report. After USAC has completed its queries and made the necessary changes, you will be able to verify that your invoice deadline has been extended by searching for your FRN(s) in the FRN Extension Table. Invoice deadlines will be extended for the FRNs that feature these BENs even if the associated service providers are filing SPI Forms.

USAC will announce when these updates have been completed. If your BEN appears on the above report, we suggest that you wait for our announcement before filing invoices for those FRNs that have already passed their original invoice deadlines.

Non-recurring service delivery deadlines

USAC will extend the service delivery deadline to September 30, 2018 for FY2016 FRNs for non-recurring services other than special construction that feature the BENs of the entities in the above report. After USAC has completed its queries and made the necessary changes, you will be able to verify that your service delivery deadline has been extended by searching for your FRNs in the FRN Extension Table.

Remember, however, that extensions are not automatic for applicants that receive FY2017 commitments for special construction. If these applicants need additional time to complete special construction and light the new fiber, they must file a valid FCC Form 500 and certify that construction for the special construction project was unavoidably delayed due to damage caused by the Hurricanes. If USAC approves their request, they will be able to verify that their service delivery deadline has been extended by searching for their FRN(s) in the FRN Extension Table.