Forms 470/486/500 EPC Availability:
USAC has indicated that several forms — Form 470 for FY 2018 and Forms 486 and 500 for FY 2017 — not currently available in EPC, will be activated shortly.
The Form 470 for FY 2018 is scheduled to be available as of July 1st. Early availability of the Form 470 is particularly important for applicants with long procurement cycles. For the past few years, an applicant seeking to file a Form 470 before USAC’s system had been updated for the coming funding year was advised to use the existing version of the Form and to add narrative language to explain the timing difference. This strategy won’t work for FY 2018. Any attempt to file a Form 470 in EPC today results in the following message:
Our advice to any applicant needing to file an RFP for FY 2018 before July is to do so, but to use a bid closing date in early August to assure enough time for a Form 470 to be posted for the required 28 days.
A FY 2017 version of the Form 486, and hopefully of the Form 500 as well, should be available on or before July 1st. Availability of an updated Form 486 is particularly important for any applicant, already funded for FY 2017, seeking service provider discounts on July bills.