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May 31, 2019
TIP OF THE WEEK: SERVICE PROVIDERS: Be sure to file your FCC Form 473, Service Provider Annual Certification (SPAC) Form for Funding Year (FY) 2019 if you have not already done so. For more information on how to file, refer to last week's SL News Brief.
Commitments for Funding Year 2019
Funding Year 2019. USAC released FY2019 Wave 6 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on May 30. As of May 31, FY2019 commitments total over $788 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).
Registration for Summer 2019 Service Provider Training Continues
Last week, USAC opened registration for service provider training. There will be two training sessions, each covering the same material:
Training and other informational sessions for the High Cost, Lifeline, and Rural Health Care Programs and the Contributors section will be held on Wednesday, August 7, between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. EDT. We will provide a final schedule for these Wednesday sessions within the next few weeks.
If you are interested in participating on Wednesday, we encourage you to register for the E-rate training but consider waiting to make travel plans until we can provide a detailed Wednesday schedule.
Summer Contact Period ("Summer 15-day") Has Begun
USAC has procedures to contact applicants if more information is necessary to process a form. At this time of year, our most common reason for initiating contacts is that Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) is reviewing your FCC Form 471 and needs more information from you in order to complete their review.
If PIA has questions for you, the questions will be posted in EPC. EPC will generate an email notification and a task in your organization's Task menu informing you that the PIA questions have been posted. The email also contains a hyperlink to the questions.
You can access your questions from the Review Inquiries menu at the top of your certified FCC Form 471. Full- and partial- rights users on the organization's account can also see and respond to the PIA questions from this page.
USAC's customary procedure is as follows:
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USAC posts the questions to the FCC Form 471 and sends the notice that the questions are available in EPC.
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If we have not heard from you – or you provide only a partial response – after seven days from our first attempt to contact you, we will send you a reminder and also inform your state E-rate coordinator that we are attempting to contact you.
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If we have not heard from you after 12 days from our first attempt, we will send a second reminder.
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If we have not heard from you after 15 days from our first attempt to contact you, we will send a final reminder. If at that point we still do not receive a response, we will use the information we have to complete the processing of your form.
We realize that, during a summer period and a winter period each year, many applicants are unavailable due to extended holiday and break schedules. PIA will not continue the process described above during these periods unless we able to make a live contact by telephone with the contact person or someone else who has been designated to respond to our questions.
If our first attempt to contact you is on or after May 24, and we cannot confirm that you are available to respond to our questions, we will put our process on hold and not continue the review of your application until after September 6. You can always contact us to restart the review of your application if you become available before September 6.
If PIA has already contacted you and you wish to designate someone to answer questions in your absence, be sure to send your designee's contact information to your PIA reviewer. If PIA has not contacted you and your designee will be checking your messages, be sure that you have provided written authorization for your designee to answer questions about your application.
If PIA makes contact with someone representing your organization but that person is not in a position to answer PIA questions, he or she should clearly state to the PIA reviewer that the review of your application should be put on hold until you are available.
You can ask for more time to respond if you need it. To request an extension, navigate to your form in EPC and click Review Inquiries. Your first request is granted automatically and your deadline is extended by seven days. Subsequent requests must be approved by a PIA director.
For more information about the PIA process and responding to PIA requests, refer to the April 12, 2019 SL News Brief.
Returning Funds to USAC? Here's What You Need to Know
If your organization needs to return program funds to USAC – for example, because you have received funds in error or there is a discrepancy between your projected support amount and the actual support disbursed – you must return those program funds electronically. USAC no longer accepts paper checks.
To return funding:
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Select "Return program funding," then choose "Schools and Libraries (COMAD or Voluntary Return Funds)," then click "Continue."
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Enter your payment information, and upload your completed Payment Identification (PID) Worksheet to tell us how to allocate your payment. If USAC sent you a letter regarding a commitment adjustment (COMAD) or recovery of improperly disbursed funds (RIDF), upload a copy of that letter as well.
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Click the "Choose Payment Method" button to proceed with your payment and follow the instructions on the following screen.
If you have any questions, contact the Client Service Bureau (CSB) at (888) 203-8100.
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