October 12, 2018

Commitments for Funding Year 2018

Funding Year 2018. USAC released Funding Year (FY) 2018 Wave 27 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on October 12. As of October 12, FY2018 commitments total over $1.82 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).

2018 E-rate Program Training Begins Next Week

USAC’s annual fall training starts on Monday, October 15, 2018 at USAC’s office located at 700 12th Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005. For those of you joining us at USAC next week, here are a few tips and reminders to help you prepare for the training.

Registration: Please bring your registration confirmation with you along with a photo ID. We are at full capacity and will not be able to accommodate walk-in registrations. The name on the registration must match the name of the person who attends the training.

There is a three-step check-in process in the building lobby:

1. Go to the security desk in the lobby to receive your security pass.
2. After you receive your security pass, go to USAC’s registration desk in the lobby to check in and receive your name badge and training agenda.
3. Find a USAC representative by the elevators to guide you to the training event.

NOTE: If you are attending both days of training, you will need to request a security pass and check in at the beginning of each day.

Download the Training Materials: Training materials are available on our website. We will be going paperless this year, and will not have printouts. Please plan accordingly.

Food: Attendees should make their own arrangements for meals. USAC will provide recommendations for nearby breakfast and lunch options within walking distance.

We look forward to seeing you next week. For information on other fall training events, please reference our 2018 Applicant & Service Provider Trainings page.

Register for the October Webinar

Join USAC for the monthly E-rate Program webinar. In October, we will discuss the E-rate Productivity Center (EPC) for new applicants. This webinar is designed to help new applicants become familiar with the account and application management portal for the E-rate Program. Program participants use this tool to manage program processes, receive notifications and to contact customer service. In this webinar, you will learn about basic navigation in EPC, including logging in for the first time.

If you would like to learn more about these topics, please join us for the live webinar at 3:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, October 25. You will be able to ask questions about the presentation during the webinar using the questions box in the webinar platform. USAC staff members will be responding to individual questions in real time, and the webinar facilitators will also respond verbally to questions of general interest at the end of the webinar.

To register for the webinar in advance, you can click here. Registration is also available on the Webinars page. If you register but are unable to attend, you can click the registration link to watch a recording of the webinar.

New Invoice Deadline Extension Tool Now Available in EPC

The new EPC invoice extension deadline tool is now available. Applicants, consultants, and service providers can request invoice deadline extensions for their Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) for FY2016 and forward by using the new tool.

Program participants still use the existing legacy tool (the tool that applicants and service providers can access through the online BEAR Form) to request invoice deadline extensions for FRNs from FY2015 and previous funding years.

Visit our website for information on how to file an invoice deadline extension request.

REMINDER: For most applicants and service providers, October 29, 2018 is the deadline to invoice USAC for FY2017 recurring services. Applicants and service providers can request a one-time, 120-day extension of the invoice deadline for FY2017 recurring services. The deadline to submit such a request is October 29, 2018.

Erratum

When certifying an invoice for FY2017 recurring services, applicants and service providers whose FCC Form 486 Notification Letters are dated after June 30, 2018 will have an invoice deadline later than October 29, not June 30, as was reported in last week's SL News Brief. The online version of this issue has been corrected.