Upcoming 2018 E-Rate Dates:
| May 14 |
FY 2017 Form 486 deadline for funding committed in Wave 34. Other upcoming Form 486 deadlines include:
Wave 35 05/18/2018
Wave 36 05/21/2018
Wave 37 05/29/2018
Applicants missing these (or earlier) deadlines should watch carefully for “Form 486 Urgent Reminder Letters” in EPC. The Reminders will afford applicants with 15-day extensions to submit their Form 486s without penalty.
The first Form 486 deadline for FY 2018 is not until October 29, 2018.
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| May 23 |
USAC webinar on Filing FCC Form 486. |
| June 1 |
Deadline for submitting comments to the FCC re. the NPRM on Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through FCC Programs (see our newsletter of April 2nd). Reply comments are due by July 2nd. |
| June 20 |
USAC webinar on Understanding Post-Commitment Actions. |
FCC Decision Watch:
The FCC approved a Request for Waiver (DA 18-473) last week extending by over two years the implementation deadline for special fiber construction work on behalf of the Utah Education and Telehealth Network (“UETN”). Although the approved waiver is specific to UETN, the decision explicitly recognizes the time-consuming nature of certain special construction projects. This recognition, together with the relief provided to UETN, may serve as an important precedent for other applicants seeking deadline extensions for the implementation of late-funded and/or complex fiber networks.
The UETN waiver request involved an FY 2016 Category 1 special construction request that had an initial service implementation deadline of June 30, 2017 (unlike normal non-recurring service delivery deadlines which are September 30). The E-rate Modernization rules permit an applicant to request a one-time one-year implementation extension and require that extension request to be filed before the initial deadline. Without an FCDL in hand, UETN correctly filed for an implementation extension in April 2017. That request was promptly approved by USAC extending the deadline to June 2018. Unfortunately, UETN’s funding request was not finally approved (after an appeal) until late December 2017 — giving UETN’s vendor only six months to complete the project. UETN then filed a Request for Waiver with the FCC to further extend the deadline an additional two years. In supporting its request for an extension, UETN cited specific construction difficulties including the need to traverse the Uinta Mountain range and a limited May-September construction season. The FCC approved the Request for Waiver and extended the service implementation deadline to October 1, 2020.
Although case-specific, approval of UETN’s waiver request does indicate the FCC’s willingness to consider:
- Longer implementation deadline extensions than the one-year extension provision included in the Second E-rate Modernization Order (FCC 14-189); and
- An early-fall deadline date consistent with the Category 2 non-recurring Service Delivery Deadline of September 30th.