News of the Week

E-Rate for FY 2024:

Wave 33 for FY 2024 was released on Thursday, December 5th, for $24.8 million.  Total funding is now $2.46 billion.  Currently, USAC has funded 97.0% of the originally submitted applications, representing 83.5% of the dollars requested.

Upcoming Dates:

FCC Streamlined Decisions:

The FCC issued another set of “streamlined,” precedent-based appeals and waivers last week.  As with past streamlined decisions, applicants facing similar problems to those addressed in these decisions may garner useful information by carefully reading the additional FCC explanations found in the footnotes.  The original appeal and/or waiver requests can be found online in the FCC’s Search for Filings under Docket 02-6 (E-Rate) or Docket 21-93 (ECF).

In November’s streamlined decisions (DA 24-1169), the FCC:

1. E-Rate Dismissed:
   1. Six Petitions for Reconsideration for failure “to identify any material error, omission, or reason warranting reconsideration.”
2. E-Rate Granted:
   1. Two Requests for Waiver of the appeal filing deadline that had been missed “only a few days late or within a reasonable period of time after receiving actual notice of USAC’s adverse decision.”
   2. One Request for Review finding that a contract had been in place when the Form 471 was filed.
   3. One Request for Waiver for a contract renewal inadvertently signed after the Form 471 was filed.
   4. One Request for Waiver demonstrating “extraordinary circumstances outside of its control” warranting an invoice deadline extension.
   5. Two Requests for Review regarding eligible services remanded to USAC for reassessment.
   6. Two Requests for Waiver granting additional time to respond to USAC’s request for information during invoicing.
   7. One Request for Waiver on a service substitution remanded to USAC to determine whether the service is within the scope of the controlling Form 470.
   8. Two Requests for Waiver on service substitutions deemed to have met the appropriate substitution requirements.
   9. One Request for Review affirming USAC’s denial of a service substitution but granting a request for the reinstatement of the original service.
   10. One Request for Waiver for an invoice deadline extension for an applicant awaiting a USAC decision.
   11. One Request for Waiver of price as the primary factor where the record showed that the applicant did, in fact, weigh price as the most important factor.
3. E-Rate Denied:
   1. One Request for Review in which the Form 470 referenced a specific vendor.
   2. Nine Requests for Waiver for late-filed Form 471 applications where the applicants failed to present special circumstances justifying a waiver.
   3. Seven Requests for Waiver for late-filed invoices or invoice deadline extension requests where the applicants failed to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances.
   4. Seven Requests for Waiver for untimely filed appeals or waivers.
4. ECF Granted:
   1. Seven Requests for Waiver involving the early delivery of equipment.