News of the Week

Wave 27 for FY 2022 was issued on Thursday, October 20th, for $42.4 million.  Cumulative commitments to date are $2.61 billion.  Nationwide, USAC has funded 96.4% of the FY 2022 applications representing 86.1% of the requested funding.

ECF for 2021-2023:

Wave 24 for Windows 1 and 2 and Wave 10 for Window 3 were released on Wednesday, October 19th, for a total of $77.5 million of which $77.4 million was for Window 3 applicants. Total commitments for all three ECF windows are $6.08 billion.  Nationwide, USAC has funded 96.4% of the applications from ECF Windows 1 & 2 and 38.0% of applications from ECF Window 3.  Total disbursements as of last Friday remain $1.96 billion.

Upcoming Dates:

E-Rate Pilot Program for Tribal Libraries:

The FCC announced a pilot program aimed at helping Tribal libraries apply for E-rate funding during the upcoming FY 2023 funding cycle.  The new program, staffed by USAC, will provide one-on-one assistance in all aspects of preparing, applying, and receiving E-rate support.  For more information, see Tribal Libraries E-Rate Pilot Program. 

Tribal libraries may also want to explore the $2 billion in broadband connectivity funding available through the NTIA under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Tribal Connectivity Technical Amendments portion of the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment Program (“BEAD”).

USAC’s E-Rate News Brief of October 20, 2022, provides the following tips for applicants needing to update their EPC entity data in preparation for the FY 2023 application window.  The “administrative window” for making these changes opens Tuesday, October 25th, and will close shortly before the Form 471 window opens in mid-January.

• Update student enrollment and NSLP data (including Category 2 student counts).
• Add new entities if needed.
• Submit any FY 2022 RAL modifications or appeals before updating EPC profiles.
• Small school districts (ten or fewer schools) should consider reporting student counts for Category 2 budget purposes on a school-by-school basis.
• Charter schools associated with a public school district and planning to apply using their own Category 2 budget will need to demonstrate financial and administrative independence.
• Independent schools with only part-time students can count those students as full-time.
• Only five school types may be shown as having zero students but still count as a part of a Category 2 budget calculation.
• Library branches showing zero square footage will not count as a part of a Category 2 budget calculation.
• USAC will hold an EPC Administrative Window Webinar on October 27th.

Last week’s News Brief also discusses:

• List of USAC’s fall training webinars.
• Review of the extended service delivery deadlines for certain non-recurring FY 2020 and FY 2021 funding requests (see our newsletter of September 26th).
• Recent EPC updates to the Form 498 for applicants.