April 20, 2018

Commitments for Funding Year 2018

Funding Year 2018. USAC is in the process of releasing the first set of funding commitments for Funding Year (FY) 2018. Wave 1 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) were issued earlier today, and we will issue a Special Edition News Brief when this first set of commitments has been completed.

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).

New Format for FCDLs and RFCDLs

Starting immediately, we are introducing a new format for FCDLs and Revised FCDLs (RFCDLs).

• FCDLs in the new format will be created going forward for FY2017 and FY2018 regular waves.
• RFCDLs in the new format will be created going forward for FY2016, FY2017, and FY2018 post-commitment waves.

FCDLs

Here are the FCDL changes you will notice immediately:

• The FCDL is a printable letter in .PDF format.
• The FCDL will be attached to the email sent to the FCC Form 471 certifier (applicant) and the general contact (service provider). NOTE: We are working to add an email notification to the FCC Form 471 contact person in the near future.
• The FCDL does not need to be "generated."
• The text of the News item that is posted in EPC announcing the FCDL is shorter, and the FCDL supplement is no longer attached. However, all files associated with the FCDL for applicants and service providers will be attached to the email and the EPC News item, and will also be available in the Notifications section of the organization's landing page in EPC and viewable by all users on the organization's account.

In addition to these changes, the information in the commitment decision(s) is also much more accessible.

• The total amount committed and some general information about the applicant or service provider appear on the first page of the FCDL. Remember that, in each funding wave, an applicant FCDL is issued for each FCC Form 471, while a service provider FCDL is issued for all Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) in that wave that feature the Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) for that service provider.
• The text of the FCDL continues with next steps and includes the information previously provided in the FCDL supplement.
• Finally, an FRN summary page and one or more detail pages – one page for each FRN – follow the letter text. Note that this information is also included in the files attached to the email and the News item.

RFCDLs

As a reminder, applicants and service providers receive an RFCDL for all post-commitment changes (changes that occur after the FCDL is issued). These changes can be due one or more of the following:

• An appeal decision.
• A service substitution request.
• A corrective or operational Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) change request.
• Any change requested on a certified FCC Form 500.

Here are the changes to the RFCDL:

• The RFCDL is a printable letter in .PDF format.
• The RFCDL will be attached to the email sent to the FCC Form 471 certifier (applicant) and the general contact (service provider).
• The RFCDL does not need to be "generated."
• The text of the News item that is posted in EPC announcing the RFCDL is shorter, and the RFCDL supplement is no longer attached. However, all files associated with the RFCDL for applicants and service providers will be attached to the email and the EPC News item, and will also be available in the Notifications section of the organization's landing page in EPC and viewable by all users on the organization's account.

In addition to these changes, the information about the decision(s) is also much more accessible.

• The original and revised committed amounts and some general information about the applicant or service provider appear on the first page of the RFCDL. The change or changes that were made are also listed.
• The text of the RFCDL continues with next steps to be taken and includes the information previously provided in the RFCDL supplement.
• Finally, a decision summary page and one or more detail pages – one page for each decision – follow the letter text. Note that this information is also included in the files attached to the email and the News item.

We have posted a video walkthrough on the Trainings & Outreach area of the USAC website. The video contains a sample FCDL with a detailed commentary and demonstration of the new FCDL format. The same video also includes a similar walkthrough for a sample RFCDL.

PIA Reviewer Email Address Changes Completed

USAC has now completed the change of the format and domain of Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) reviewer email addresses to firstname.lastname@usac.org.

The new email address for your reviewer should appear on communications from PIA related to your review. We will continue to forward emails sent to the sl.universalservice.org domain so that no communications are lost, but we encourage you to use the new email address to communicate with your reviewer.