May 3, 2019 

TIP OF THE WEEK: If you meet all the requirements, you can file your FY2019 FCC Form 486 early – that is before services have started. Applicants who receive FY2019 commitments before July 1 should review the guidance on the FCC Form 486 Filing web page to see if they qualify for early filing.

Commitments for Funding Year 2019

Funding Year 2019. USAC released FY2019 Wave 2 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on May 2. As of May 3, FY2019 commitments total over $602 million.

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).

Upcoming Webinars

As a reminder, the Schools and Libraries (E-rate) Program hosts live training webinars throughout the year for program participants. During these webinars, we share program updates and essential guidance to help participants learn about and successfully navigate the program. USAC's Contributors team also hosts webinars throughout the year for universal service fund contributors and service providers.

In May, both teams are hosting webinars for the benefit of E-rate participants. First, the Contributors team will present a webinar on the registration process for the FCC Form 498, and the process for obtaining an FCC Form 499 Filer ID. One week later, the E-rate Program team will host a webinar on the FCC Form 486.

FCC Form 498/FCC Form 499 Filer ID Webinar for Service Providers

Registration is now open for the May 8, 2019 webinar on FCC Form 498 and FCC Form 499 Filer ID basics hosted by USAC's Contributors team. This webinar is intended for all service providers that are new to Universal Service programs. Learn the difference between an FCC Form 498 Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) and an FCC Form 499 Filer ID, as well as the process to obtain these ID numbers. We will outline information required to complete each form, walk through the registration process, and discuss what happens after you submit your form. Click here to register.

Starting Services: FCC Form 486

Join us on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 for our E-rate Program webinar on the FCC Form 486 and the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). In this webinar, we will explain the purpose of the form, when to file the form, and the consequences of filing the form late. We will also cover CIPA compliance and the FCC Form 479 filing requirement for consortium members. Click here to register.

If you register for one of the webinars, but are unable to attend, you can click the registration link to watch a recording of the presentation.

URL Changes to Legacy Functions

For network security purposes, we are changing the web addresses for some of the legacy forms and tools that users currently access on the slforms.universalservice.org domain. We will automatically redirect users to the new address for each form or tool, but we suggest that you update any bookmarks that you have created for these forms and tools.

Earlier this week, we changed the web addresses for the following two legacy tools:

• View an FCC Form 470 Tool – You can use this tool to search for and view individual FCC Forms 470 filed in our legacy system for FY2016 and earlier funding years.
• View FRNs with Extended Deadlines – You can use this tool to find a list of Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) with an extended service delivery date (SDD) and/or invoice deadline date (IDD) for a funding year. Note that this tool is the system of record for FRN-related deadlines for FY2015 and earlier funding years, and EPC is the system of record for FY2016 and later funding years.

Correction on Extensions of Time to Respond to PIA Inquiries

In the March 1, 2019 SL News Brief, we reported on a system change that allowed applicants to automatically request more than one extension of the time they had to respond to Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) inquiries.

We would like to clarify the details of this extension request process and the amount of time available at each step in the process. Please note that extensions are only granted for seven days, not 15 days as reported in the March 1 SL News Brief.

• Each applicant has 15 days from the date that the PIA inquiries are posted to EPC (and the contact person receives their email notification) to provide responses to USAC.
• The applicant can request a seven-day extension of the 15-day deadline in EPC. The first request is automatically approved.
• The applicant can request a second or third extension in EPC after the first extension. These requests are not automatically approved. If the request is approved by a PIA director, the applicant will have an additional seven days to respond.

Keep in mind that, once your last approved deadline has passed without a response, PIA may move forward on a funding decision using the information at hand, which in turn may result in a reduction or denial of funding.