News of the Week

The FY 2022 Form 471 Application Window will close on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.  Form 470s must be filed no later than February 22nd to meet the 28-day posting requirement before the Form 471 window closes.  As indicated in USAC’s E-Rate News Brief cited below, over 7,600 applications were already filed by last Wednesday evening, February 16th.

E-Rate:

Wave 45 for FY 2021 was released on Thursday, February 17th, for $16.5 million.  Cumulative commitments are now $2.61 billion.  Nationwide, USAC has now funded 98% of the FY 2021 applications representing 93% of the requested funding.

ECF:

The most recent Wave 9 was released on February 8th for a total of $128 million.  Cumulative ECF commitments are $4.54 billion.  Nationwide, USAC has funded almost 87% of filed applications.  Authorized disbursements as of last Friday totaled $384 million.

Upcoming Dates:

ACP FNPRM Comment Period:

The Affordable Connectivity Program (“ACP”) Report and Order (FCC 22-2) included a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) seeking comments on three additional aspects of ACP:

• The structure and objectives of a grant program for outreach partners to help publicize ACP.  Potentially, schools and libraries might qualify for grants to educate and help enroll their students, student parents, or patrons in ACP.
• A specific part of the outreach program proposes a pilot program focused on eligible households participating in Federal Public Housing Assistance (“FPHA”) programs.  It is our hope that an FPHA pilot program to reach extremely low-income families might also be expanded to include families residing in homeless shelters.
• A mechanism by which eligible households in “high-cost” areas, to be defined, may receive enhanced benefits of up to $75 per month rather than the standard ACP discounts of up to $30 per month.

With the ACP Order now published in the Federal Register, comments on the FNPRM are due March 16th.  Reply comments will be due April 15th.

USAC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund Program Newsletter of February 15, 2022, directs ECF participants to the two new reimbursement check lists discussing the following:

Request for Reimbursement ECF FCC Form 472 (BEAR) Checklist

• Register for SAM.gov
• Confirm DUNS and TIN/EIN match for Sam.gov and FCC Registration No.
• Complete the ECF Form 472 (“BEAR”)
• Provide detailed vendor invoice attachment

Request for Reimbursement ECF FCC Form 474 (SPI) Checklist

• Register for SAM.gov
• Confirm DUNS and TIN/EIN match for Sam.gov and FCC Registration No.
• File Form 498
• Gain access to the ECF Portal
• Complete the ECF Form 474 (“SPI”)
• Provide detailed vendor invoice attachment

USAC also announced the availability of a new ECF Open Data Tool that provides a more user-friendly way to search, view, and download ECF program data.

Data in the new tool is much more compact than in the full ECF dataset.  It eliminates many of the lesser-used columns and combines data by FRN rows rather than by FRN line items.  More importantly, it includes a robust filtering mechanism that lets you select data by criteria such as:

• Applicant name or BEN
• Application number or FRN
• State
• FCDL date range (wave number would have been easier but we can live with this)

For those of us who have long worked to pull useful ECF funding information out of the original ECF dataset, the new tool will be a major time-saver.  Thank you USAC!

USAC’s E-Rate News Brief of February 17, 2022, is packed with information on the following E‑rate topics.

• The FY 2022 Form 471 application window countdown.
• A reminder that February 25th is the invoicing deadline for recurring FY 2020 services that had already received the 120-day extension from October 28, 2021.
• Reminders for filing an FY 2022 Form 471:
  • Wait the full 28 days (at least) after filing a Form 470, selecting your vendor(s), and certifying the Form 471.
  • Make sure you have the correct rights to be able to work on a Form 471 in EPC.
  • Start your Form 471 even if you are not ready to provide all details.
  • Create a contract record for each new contract or legally binding agreement.
  • Contact the Customer Service Center (“CSC”) if you need assistance.
• Two new Open Data tools:
  • An E-Rate FRN Invoicing Data Tool to search, view, and download data related to invoice deadline dates, funds remaining for invoicing, and the invoicing mode (BEAR vs SPI)  (see training video).
  • An E-Rate FRN Status Tool FY2016+ which provides funding request data including funding status, funding wave data, and disbursements (see training video).
• Notice that an interim SPIN (143666666) will be available as of March 11th for use by applicants filing Form 471s referencing service providers who have not yet been assigned their own SPINs.
• List of extended Customer Service Center (“CSC”) helpline hours for the final days of the application window March 18–19 and 21–22 (but not the intervening weekend).
• Announcement of a new FCC Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letter Modification Guide.
• Links to the recording and slide decks for USAC’s tribal and invoice webinars which were held earlier this month.
• Summary of the new Tribal Library Order (FCC 22-8) and training series.