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August 30, 2019
TIP OF THE WEEK: If you would like to submit reply comments to the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on Category Two budgets (FCC 19-58, released July 9, 2019), remember that your reply comments are due on or before September 3, 2019. To submit reply comments, follow the instructions in the Filing Comments and Reply Comments paragraph in the NPRM.
Additionally, if you would like to submit comments to the FCC's Public Notice (PN) seeking comment on the Funding Year (FY) 2020 eligible services list (DA 19-738, released on August 2, 2019), remember that your comments are due on or before September 3, 2019. To submit comments, follow the instructions provided in the PN.
Commitments for Funding Year 2019
Funding Year 2019. USAC released FY2019 Wave 19 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) on August 29. As of August 30, FY2019 commitments total over $1.58 billion.
Note: We will run an additional FY2019 funding wave this weekend.
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).
Invoicing FAQs
On August 21, 2019, USAC held a webinar on the invoicing process. Over the next few weeks, we will address questions related to invoicing that we were not able to address during the webinar.
To watch a recording of the webinar, go to the Webinar Recordings section of the Online Learning Library page on the USAC website and click the link for "The E-rate Invoicing Process." Provide some basic information and then click the Register button to go directly to the recording.
Here are some of the most common questions we received about the invoicing process:
Q. When do I need to inform USAC of the invoicing method chosen?
A. There is no need to inform USAC of the decision. The first invoice submitted and processed by USAC – even if the invoice is not paid – sets the invoicing method for the Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) featured on that invoice.
Q. How can the service provider determine which invoicing method will be used?
A. Ask your customer (the applicant) which method they have chosen. According to the E-rate Program rules, the applicant should make this choice before the FCC Form 471 is filed.
If you are the service provider and are not hearing anything from your customers, we suggest that you initiate contact so that you are prepared with the information you need.
Q. How do we add a new person to submit invoices?
A. To submit an FCC Form 472 (BEAR Form) for an applicant, the new person must have a Personal Identification Number (PIN). You can find instructions on how to request a PIN on the PIN page of the USAC website. We encourage you to ask your EPC account administrator to create this person as a new user on your EPC account to enable us to locate and contact them if we have any questions about an invoice.
To submit an FCC Form 474 (SPI Form) for a service provider, the new person should be authorized by the service provider to file invoices. We encourage you to create this person as a new user on your E-File System account to enable us to locate and contact them if we have any questions about an invoice.
Q. How can I check to see if a service provider has filed an FCC Form 473 (SPAC Form)?
A. Both the Service Provider Download Tool and the SPIN Search Tool display this information.
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To use the Service Provider Download Tool, enter all or part of the service provider's name or the Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) and click the Search button. Each funding year where USAC has a SPAC Form on file for that SPIN will appear in the far right-hand column.
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To use the SPIN Search Tool, enter all or part of the service provider's name followed by a percent sign (%) or the SPIN and click the Next button. Each funding year where USAC has a SPAC Form on file for that SPIN will appear in the far right-hand column.
Q. How can I check to see if an applicant has filed an FCC Form 486?
A. For FY2016 and subsequent funding years, use the FRN Status Tool. For funding years before FY2016, use the Data Retrieval Tool. The instructions are the same for both tools:
Each line featuring an FRN from an FCC Form 486 certified by the applicant and approved by USAC will show a service start date in the column labeled "486 SSD."
Q. How do I request an extension of the deadline to file an invoice?
A. For FRNs from FY2016 and subsequent funding years, file your request in EPC.
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Applicants:
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On your landing page, click the link to the billed entity record (the name in the "Welcome!" link near the top of the page or the first entry under the My Entities section).
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Select the Related Actions menu and choose Invoice Deadline Date Extension Request.
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Enter one or more FRNs separated by commas.
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Click the Check Eligibility button. All of the FRNs from your list that can be extended will appear on a grid.
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Click Submit.
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Review the resulting News post for the results.
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Service providers:
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From the Records tab at the top of any EPC page, click the Service Providers option.
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Use the Search function to locate your service provider record.
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Select the Related Actions menu and choose Invoice Deadline Date Extension Request.
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Enter one or more FRNs separated by commas.
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Click the Check Eligibility button. All of the FRNs from your list that can be extended will appear on a grid.
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Click Submit.
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Review the resulting News post for the results.
For FRNs for FY2015 and previous years, request an invoice deadline extension through the Deadline Extension link at the top of the online BEAR Form. If you have multiple FRNs, you must request an extension one FRN at a time.
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Service providers locate the online BEAR Form by logging in to the E-File System, setting their SPIN, and clicking the 472 BEAR Form link.
Q. What is the deadline for filing an invoice deadline extension request?
A. For both applicants and service providers, the deadline for filing an invoice deadline extension request is the same as the original invoice deadline. For example, the deadline for filing an invoice for FY2018 recurring services is October 28, 2019. This is also the deadline for filing an extension request for FRNs for those services.
Q. What can I do if I miss the deadline?
A. The deadline for filing an invoice and the deadline for filing an invoice deadline extension request are not administrative deadlines, but are contained in the E-rate Program rules. Consequently, if you miss the deadline, you cannot file an appeal with USAC. Instead you must request a waiver of the rule from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). If the FCC grants your waiver request, you will then be able to file an invoice.
You can file a waiver request on the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) page. Be sure to choose "02-6" in the Proceeding Number field and "WAIVER" in the Filing Type field.
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