Introduction
The E-Rate Central News for the Week is prepared by E-Rate Central. E-Rate Central specializes in providing consulting, compliance, and forms processing services to E-rate applicants. To learn more about our services, please contact us by phone (516-801-7804), fax (516-801-7810), or through our Contact Us web form. Additional E-rate information is located on the E-Rate Central website.
USAC released Wave 18 for FY 2019 on Thursday, August 22nd. Funding totaled $84.9 million. Cumulative commitments through Wave 18 are $1.47 billion.
Form 498 Update, cont.:
Our newsletter of August 19th contained an extensive article on USAC’s request to applicants and service providers to update their Form 498s to include a new “Business Type” field. Two additional details should be noted, namely:
- The “Business Type,” when added, does not currently appear in the online version of the newly certified Form 498 nor in the PDF version. USAC is working to correct this.
- Last Friday’s News Brief, referenced below, notes that EPC is currently replacing the information in the Remittance Contact section with that of the General Financial Contact. If these two contacts are meant to be different, the incorrect duplication should be corrected before the Form 498 is certified. Again, USAC is working to correct this.
Upcoming E-Rate Dates:
| August 26 |
Deadline for submitting reply comments on the FCC’s NPRM (FCC 19-46) regarding a possible cap on total funding of the Universal Service Fund (“USF”.) (See our newsletter of June 3rd.] |
| September 3 |
Deadline for submitting reply comments to the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on the future of Category 2 funding for FY 2020 and beyond (FCC 19-58). (See our newsletter of August 19th for a summary of the initial comments.) |
| September 3 |
Deadline for submitting initial comments on the FCC’s draft Eligible Services List (“ESL”) for FY 2020 (DA 19-738). Reply comments are due September 18th. (See our newsletter of August 5th.) |
| September 6 |
Deadline for submitting USAC invoice appeals related to reissued BEAR Notification Letters. (See our newsletter of July 15th.) |
| September 11 |
Form 486 deadline for FY 2018 funding committed in Wave 55. More generally, the Form 486 deadline is 120 days from the FCDL date or the service start date (typically July 1st), whichever is later. Other upcoming Form 486 deadlines are:
Wave 56 N/A (no commitments)
Wave 57 10/03/2019
Wave 58 10/11/2019
Note 1: Applicants missing any Form 486 deadline should watch carefully for “Form 486 Urgent Reminder Letters” in their EPC News Feed. These Reminder Letters afford applicants 15-day extensions to submit their Form 486s without penalty.
Note 2: The first Form 486 deadline for FY 2019, covering funding committed in Waves 1-10, will be October 29, 2019.
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September 16 –
November 21 |
See USAC’s 2019 Training webpage for a schedule of all USAC 2019 fall applicant and tribal training sessions. |
| September 23 |
Deadline for submitting comments to the USDA’s proposal to revise the categorical eligibility of families in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) (FNS-2018-0037). (See our newsletter of August 5th for E-rate implications.) |
USAC’s Schools and Libraries News Brief of August 23, 2019 reminds applicants planning to file BEAR reimbursement forms (Form 472s) for FY 2018 discounts that they will need two identifying numbers: their Form 498 ID and a Personal Identification Number (“PIN”). Applicants who do not already have PINs will need to request them following the instructions included in last Friday’s News Brief.