Upcoming Dates:
| July 19 |
Form 486 deadline for FY 2023 Wave 48. More generally, the Form 486 deadline is 120 days from the FCDL date or the service start date (typically July 1st), whichever is later. Upcoming Form 486 deadlines are:
Wave 49 07/26/2024
Wave 50 08/02/2024
Wave 51 08/09/2024
Wave 52 08/16/2024
Wave 53 08/23/2024
The first Form 486 deadline for FY 2024, for applicants funded on or before July 1st, will be October 29th. |
| July 18 |
FCC Open Meeting to include consideration of the proposed Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to make off-premises use of Wi‑Fi hotspots and wireless internet service eligible for E-rate funding (see draft Order currently on circulation). |
| August 1 |
USAC webinar on FCC Form 470/Competitive Bidding (registration). |
| Late August |
Current estimate of Form 470 availability for Funding Year 2025. |
| August 29 |
Invoice deadline for ECF Window 3 applications.* |
Corrective Correction: Form 470 Delay for FY 2025
This is the third week in a row that we’ve written about the availability of the Form 470 for FY 2025. This is another correction, and a welcome one.
Traditionally, USAC updates its Form 470 on July 1st to reflect the next funding year. This gives applicants with long procurement cycles a head start. This year, with the FCC set to vote July 18th on the eligibility of hotspots, effective FY 2025, USAC announced that the FY 2025 Form 470 would not be available until approximately the end of August. This gives the FCC time to formally release the hotspot Order and to have it posted in the Federal Register for 30 days before becoming effective. At that point, USAC will be able to include hotspot equipment and services in the Form 470 pulldown menus.
We initially assumed that USAC would keep the existing FY 2024 Form 470 up and running until the FY 2025 version was ready. That would permit applicants seeking bids, for non-hotspot services, to open the FY 2025 competitive bidding processes by including a short narrative statement that this “FY 2024” Form 470 is for FY 2025 products and services. However, USAC had initially taken down the FY 2024 Form 470, so we issued a correction indicating that all applicants seeking to file Form 470s for FY 2025 would have to wait for the new FY 2025 Form 470.
It now appears that USAC has resuscitated the FY 2024 Form 470 for early FY 2025, non-hotspot, use. Just be sure to include a narrative statement that this Form 470 is for FY 2025 products and/or services. Those seeking bids for hotspot equipment and services will have to await formalization of the hotspot Order and the release of the FY 2025 Form 470, hopefully by, at the latest, September.