Funding Status
The application window for FY 2011 is scheduled to close at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 24, 2011.
Wave 41 for FY 2010 will be released on Tuesday, March 8th, for $31.1 million. This will increase cumulative funding for FY 2010 to $2.33 billion. Priority 2 funding is still being awarded at 81% and above
No funding wave for FY 2009 is scheduled for release this week.
Letters from USAC
The SLD's most recent News Brief, discussed below, also includes a small section on two letters that many applicants will shortly be receiving from USAC. The topic is actually broader and requires more discussion.
Form 470 Receipt Notification Letters:
Normally, shortly after an applicant submits a Form 470, USAC promptly sends back a Form 470 Receipt Notification Letter ("RNL"). This year was different. An applicant who filed an early Form 470, before the new version of the Form 470 was released on January 10th, received its RNL on the normal schedule. Thereafter, RNLs were delayed pending necessary system changes to comport with the new version. USAC expects to begin mailing new RNLs on Tuesday.
The primary purpose of the RNL is to confirm receipt of a Form 470 and to permit an applicant to review, and in some cases revise, the basic Form 470 information. Generally, the RNL will track perfectly with the submitted Form 470, but applicants, particularly those who filed on paper, should check closely to make sure that no information was incorrectly data entered. The RNL gives an applicant 20 days to make corrections, although the scope of permitted changes is strictly limited. Most specifically, an applicant cannot add or change services requested. Such a change would require a new Form 470, the deadline for which has passed.
Form 470 But No Form 471 Letters:
As we anticipated and discussed in our last newsletter, USAC sent out over 25,600 letters last Friday to applicants who had filed timely Form 470s, but who had not yet filed Form 471s, reminding them of the upcoming March 24th application deadline. We personally believe that this is a largely wasteful exercise, but it has become an annual procedure based on USAC's interpretation of FCC instructions. The most important point to note is that these warning letters should not be seen as encouraging any applicant to file a Form 471 before its required 28-day Form 470 posting period has been met.
Form 486 Urgent Reminder Letters:
On January 24th, USAC mailed over 2,350 Form 486 Urgent Reminder Letters to applicants who had apparently missed their deadlines for filing Form 486s for FY 2010 — deadlines, that for some, had been as far back as October 29th. The letters gave those applicants an additional 21 days to file their Form 486s without penalty.
Subsequently, USAC has been sending these reminder letters to all applicants who have missed more recent Form 486 filing deadlines calculated as 120 days from the later of start of service or their FCDL letter dates.
Recently, we have been receiving reports of applicants who have received these reminder letters even though they had already filed their Form 486s. This can happen when a Form 486 is selected for technology plan review and has not yet been accepted. Anyone who receives a warning letter, and who believes that their Form 486 has been filed, should confirm USAC receipt by calling the Client Service Bureau (888-203-8100), and should retain the assigned case number.
Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letters:
A Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letter ("RAL") is similar to a Form 470 RNL. It is sent to applicants shortly after they file their Form 471s. Like the RNL, the RAL lets applicants review the basic information on their Form 471s. Unlike the RNL process, however, the RAL permits applicants to correct many errors, even if the corrections increase the amount of funding requested.
Also unlike the RNL, at least this year, there was no delay in issuance. The first RALs were sent January 19th, one week after the first Form 471s were filed online. It should be noted, however, that the first batch of RAL had some formatting errors in the summer contact field and were reissued two weeks later. The deadline for making corrections to these Form 471s was based on the corrected RAL date. Additional RALs are being issued weekly as more Form 471s are filed.
Internal Audit Division Letters:
Starting last week, a few, apparently randomly selected, applicants reported receiving letters from USAC's Internal Audit Division asking them to confirm the remaining balances on certain FRNs as of December 31, 2010. Applicants will be pleased to know that these letters are part of an audit of USAC's own operations. These are not applicant audits, but we encourage applicants to respond promptly and diligently.
E-Rate Updates and Reminders
USAC FOIA Requests:
Last August, the FCC issued two orders (FCC 10-138 and FCC 10-143) regarding FOIA requests to USAC. Most importantly, the FCC noted that USAC, while not a federal agency, administers the E-rate program on behalf of the FCC and is thus subject to the same FOIA exemptions as a federal agency. In October, the Supreme Court agreed to examine a case involving AT&T's efforts to keep FCC-collected data on AT&T's E-rate involvement a secret. The Court reportedly took the case at the request of the Obama Administration seeking a ruling "that a corporation may not claim a personal privacy exception contained in the federal Freedom of Information Act."
Last week, in an 8-0 unanimous decision, the Supreme Court found that AT&T did not qualify for the "personal privacy" exemption. The Court stated that "The protection in FOIA against disclosure of law enforcement information on the ground that it would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy does not extend to corporations." Given this language, this decision is expected to have much broader corporate implications.
Comments Due on 80% Priority 2 Funding Threshold Issue:
Following a USAC recommendation to cutoff Priority 2 funding for FY 2010 at 81%, Funds For Learning ("FFL") filed a petition with the FCC arguing that additional monies are or will become available, and that a decision to cut-off Priority 2 funding at 81% now is premature. On February 18th, the FCC issued a Public Notice seeking comments on the FFL petition.
Comments on this issue are due today, March 7th; reply comments are due by March 14th.
The SLD's March 4th News Brief focuses primarily on the calculation of discount rates for various types of entities including:
- Individual school
- Library outlet/branch
- School district
- Library system or consortium
- Consortium of schools and/or libraries
- NIF without classrooms
- NIF with classrooms
- New school or library construction
- Head Start, pre-K, juvenile justice, or adult education entity
- The News Brief also includes an overview of alternative discount mechanisms including surveys.