March 8, 2019

Funding Year (FY) 2019 Window Countdown
(Form counts as of yesterday, 9:00 p.m. EST)

TIP OF THE WEEK:The Client Service Bureau (CSB) will be open extra hours during the last few days of the application filing window, which will close at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 27. We will announce the CSB extended hours in an upcoming SL News Brief.

Commitments for Funding Year 2018

Funding Year 2018. USAC released FY2018 Wave 48 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on March 8. As of March 8, FY2018 commitments total over $2.17 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).

File Size Limit for SPI Forms Filed Electronically

Service providers have the option of filing the FCC Form 474, Service Provider Invoice (SPI) Form, electronically by creating a CSV file with the required invoice information and emailing it to USAC. This electronic invoicing process is described in detail on the USAC website.

We have recently become aware of a system limitation when we attempt to process electronically filed SPI Forms.

Although we have been able to successfully process all of the files we have received so far, we are asking service providers to limit the file size of individual electronic SPI Forms to 200 KBs. This limit works out to about 2,500 line items per invoice file.

We appreciate your cooperation.

Update on FY2019 Service Provider RALs

When applicants certify an FCC Form 471, USAC issues a Receipt Acknowledgment Letter (RAL) in EPC to both applicants and service providers.

• The applicant RAL is generated shortly after the FCC Form 471 is certified. USAC issues one RAL for each certified form. The applicant RAL includes a link to the applicant's profile page in EPC and to the certified FCC Form 471.
• The service provider RAL is generated once a week. It features all Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) that appear on certified FCC Forms 471 for that week. USAC issues one RAL per Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN). The service provider RAL includes a link to the Funding Request Report, an EPC search tool where service providers can specify a period of time and download information for FRNs filed during that time.

Due to a system problem, USAC has been unable to issue service provider RALs for FY2019. However, the Funding Request Report continues to be available for service providers to search for and download RAL information.

Next week, USAC will issue the missing service provider RALs in EPC. Each SPIN will receive a RAL for each week when its SPIN was featured on one or more certified FRNs. The dates covered by each RAL will appear in the text of that RAL.

Reminder on Website Resources for the Filing Window

Applicants completing their FCC Forms 471 – and service providers assisting them – can take advantage of a number of guidance materials posted on the USAC website. Here are a few that you may find helpful:

• The E-rate Program Overview is a PDF document that provides a short description of each step in the application process, and the Application Process Flow Chart is a visual depiction of the process.
• The Process Overview contains a list of steps in the process for both applicants and service providers. Each step links to a guidance document with additional links to related information about that particular step.
• The Glossary of Terms includes definitions of commonly used terms in the E-rate program.
• The Discount Matrix allows applicants to find their discount level, based on student eligibility for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and urban or rural status.
• The FCC Form 471 Video Series contains six videos that demonstrate how to complete each section of the online FCC Form 471 in EPC.

You can review the following documents and web pages for more information on products and services that are eligible for discounts:

• The FY2019 Eligible Services List (ESL) is preceded by a summary of the changes from the FY2018 ESL. Appendix B is the ESL itself, which lists all services that are eligible to receive discounts for FY2019. You can also access ESLs from previous years from the ESL web page.
• The Eligible Services Overview provides a summary of Category One and Category Two services along with a discussion of mixed eligibility and ancillary use, and the ESL Glossary includes definitions of commonly used terms related to eligible services.
• FAQs: Eligible Services and FAQs: Eligible Fiber Services list common questions and answers on eligible services and eligible fiber services, respectively.
• Educational Purposes explains the concept of educational purposes. Services must be used primarily for educational purposes to be eligible for discounts.
• Category of Service Changes emphasizes the importance of choosing the correct category of service and service type for your services when you complete the FCC Form 471.

Multipliers for FY2019 Category Two Budget Calculations

In Public Notice 19-170, the FCC announced an inflation factor of 2.2% for FY2019. This factor will affect the calculation for the total available funding for the E-rate Program, and also the multipliers for calculations for applicants' Category Two budgets.

The calculations for FY2019 Category Two budgets are:

• Schools = Number of students * $159.669053922
• Libraries with an IMLS locale code of 11, 12, or 21 = Total square footage * $5.3223017974
• Libraries with other IMLS locale codes = Total square footage * $2.448258826804
• Budget floor = $9,793.04

FRN Balance Verifications

Each year, USAC undergoes an audit – called an agreed-upon-procedures (AUP) engagement – to examine its operations. As part of this process, the firm performing the audit emails a number of balance verifications ("confirmations") to applicants and service providers to verify that the balances reported by USAC on specific FRNs match the balances in the records of the applicants and service providers.

Each confirmation features the balance reported by USAC on a specific FRN as of October 31, 2018. Applicants and service providers should review their records and respond by either:

• Agreeing with the balance featured on the confirmation or
• If it is different, noting the balance as of October 31, 2018 on their records and explaining how they determined that balance.

The confirmations are being sent from confirmations@pwc.com. Please check your email and respond promptly if you receive a confirmation.