Issue 22-02

February 17, 2022

E-Rate News Flash

Contents:

• Announcements
• Funding Commitment Summary
• Pending Dates and Deadlines
• E-Rate and Emergency Connectivity Fund Training Resources
• E-Rate Process: Activities to Work on Now

Announcements

February 22, 2022 is Deadline to File FCC Form 470 for Funding Year 2022

E-Rate competitive bidding rules require that an FCC Form 470 be posted for a minimum of 28 days before filing an associated FCC Form 471 funding request. The E-Rate applicant must also follow all E-Rate competitive bidding rules. Note that the last date to file an FCC Form 470 and meet the minimum 28-day requirement, and also meet the FCC Form 471 filing deadline of March 22, 2022, would be February 22, 2022. If you have not yet posted your FCC Form 470 for Funding Year 2022, and expect that you will need to do so, do not delay. More information on FCC Form 470 and competitive bidding best practices is available on the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) web page at https://www.usac.org/e-rate/learn/videos/. Additionally, K12HSN has recorded webinars reviewing the FCC Form 470 and Competitive Bidding requirements for Category 1 and Category 2 services which may be viewed on its website at: https://www.k12hsn.org/resources/erate/training and https://www.k12hsn.org/archived-E-Rate-webinars.

February 25, 2022 is FINAL Invoice Deadline for Funding Year 2020 E-Rate Recurring Service Funding Requests

The final, extended deadline for invoicing of Funding Year 2020 recurring services is February 25, 2022. This is the last date an applicant may file an FCC Form 472 Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) form or a service provider may file an FCC Form 474 Service Provider Invoice (SPI) for E-Rate reimbursement. Recurring services are typically associated with Category 1 broadband services, Category 2 Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections, and Category 2 Managed Internal Broadband Services. USAC is unable to extend this final invoice deadline further; schools and service providers seeking additional time to invoice must file a waiver request with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Schools and service providers may look up the status of invoicing submissions via USAC’s E-Rate Invoice Disbursements Data Lookup Tool located at https://opendata.usac.org/stories/s/E-Rate-Tools/bneq-mh8b/. Schools are encouraged to review their reimbursement amounts for Funding Year 2020 and follow up with their service providers if it appears that the reimbursements shown are less than anticipated or if there are no reimbursements shown when they are expected.

California Funding Commitment Summary

Emergency Connectivity Fund

In the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) first and second application windows, California applicants requested over $923 million in funding. To date, USAC has issued $633 million in commitments for California applicants.

E-Rate Funding Year 2021

For Funding Year 2021, California applicants have successfully submitted 5,649 funding requests for $375 million. California applicants requested $231 million for Category 1 services and $144 million for Category 2 services. To date, USAC has committed $321 million for California applicants.

Pace of Commitments

The overall pace of commitments in terms of funding committed versus requested for California applicants in FY 2021 exceeds the same period in the previous year.

 

	FY 2021 Status  as of 02/15/2022
	Requested		Approved
	Funding Requests	Funding Requested	Approved Requests	% of Requested	Funding Approved	% of Requested
C1	3,762	$231.0 M	3,550	94%	$216.6 M	94%
C2	1,887	$144.0 M	1,498	79%	$104.8 M	73%
Total	5,649	$375.0 M	5,048	89%	$321.4 M	86%

 

 

	Versus FY 2020 as of 02/15/2021
	Requested		Approved
	Funding Requests	Funding Requested	Approved Requests	% of Requested	Funding Approved	% of Requested
C1	4,223	$234.1 M	3,868	92%	$209.6 M	90%
C2	4,918	$137.4 M	4,106	83%	$91.9 M	67%
Total	9,141	$371.5 M	7,974	87%	$301.5 M	81%

 

E-Rate Funding Year 2020

As of February 15, 2022, California applicants have successfully submitted 9,141 funding requests for $371 million. To date, USAC has committed $329 million for California applicants.

Pending Dates and Deadlines

E-Rate deadlines may be viewed or calculated on the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) website at https://www.usac.org/sl/tools/deadlines/default.aspx.

FCC Form 486 Filing Reminder

The FCC Form 486 (Receipt of Service Confirmation and Children's Internet Protection Act Certification Form) notifies USAC that the billed entity and/or the eligible entities that it represents is receiving, or has received, service in the relevant funding year from the named service provider(s).

Funding Year 2021

The first FCC Form 486 deadline for FY 2021 was October 28, 2021, for funding waves 1-11 with services starting July 1, 2021.

Waves #	FCDL Date	Form 486 Due Date
1-27	04/17/2021-10/14/2021	Deadline passed for services starting July 1, 2021
28	10/21/2021	02/18/2022
29	10/28/2021	02/25/2022
30	11/4/2021	03/4/2022
31	11/11/2021	03/11/2022

 

Funding Year 2020

FCC Form 486 must be filed 120 days from the date of the issuance of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL) or the start date of E-Rate eligible services, whichever is later.

Waves #	FCDL Date	Form 486 Due Date
1-74	05/09/2020-10/15/2021	Deadline passed for services starting July 1, 2020
75	10/27/2021	02/24/2022
76	11/10/2021	03/10/2022
77	11/19/2021	03/19/2022
78	12/1/2021	03/31/2022

Funding Year 2019

For ongoing recurring services, starting on July 1, 2019, the following deadlines have passed or are approaching in the next few months.

Waves #	FCDL Date	Form 486 Due Date
1-93	04/27/2019- 09/24/2021	Deadline passed for services starting 07/01/2019
95	12/08/2021	04/07/2022
96	12/29/2021	04/28/2022
97	1/12/2022	05/12/2022

 

Applicants missing these or earlier deadlines should closely monitor their News Feed in the E-Rate Productivity Center for an FCC Form 486 Urgent Reminder Letter notification. This letter will allow the applicant a 15-day extension to submit an FCC Form 486 without penalty.

Upcoming Training Events

Numerous training opportunities available for E-Rate and Emergency Connectivity Fund applicants are available or are coming soon.

Universal Services Administrative Company Recorded Resources

E-Rate Resources

USAC has pre-recorded webinars and other materials available at its website at  https://www.usac.org/e-rate/learn/webinars/. In January and February, USAC held a number of webinars which were recorded and are posted on USAC’s website:

• Eligible Services Office Hours
• Competitive Bidding (FCC Form 470) and Guiding Statements Overview and Office Hour
• Service Provider Selection and the FCC Form 471 Office Hours
• E-Rate Invoice Training Webinar

Emergency Connectivity Fund Resources

USAC has conducted multiple office hour webinars for ECF. You may view the webinars and register at this website: https://www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org/training/live-sessions/. In January and February, USAC held a number of webinars which were recorded and are posted on USAC’s website:

• ECF Reimbursement Office Hours, February 23, 2022, 12:00 PM PT
• ECF Reimbursement Webinar for Service Providers Using ECF FCC Form 474 or SPI Method (recording available)
• ECF Reimbursement Webinar for Applicants Using ECF FCC Form 472 or BEAR Method (recording available)

K12 High Speed Network E-Rate Resources

Lunch and Learn Events

K12HSN is currently hosting complimentary “Lunch and Learn” noon-hour office hours and webinars which focus on the E-Rate and ECF processes from beginning to end and are tailored for California schools. To sign up, or to access recordings and materials from the most recent webinars, please visit the following websites:

E-Rate: https://www.k12hsn.org/resources/erate/training recent sessions include:

• Filing FCC Form 471 for Category 1 Services (recording available)
• Filing FCC Form 471 for Category 2 Services (recording available)
• Promoting Fair and Open Competitive Bidding in the E-Rate Program Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) – recording and materials available at https://www.k12hsn.org/resources/erate/nprm

Emergency Connectivity Fund: https://www.k12hsn.org/resources/erate/ecf recent sessions include:

• Update on FCC’s COVID-19 Broadband Programs and Transition to Longer-Term Affordable Connectivity Program

Office Hours

Office hours will include discussion on the latest news about the E-Rate and ECF programs, important deadlines not to miss, and what to focus on now to ensure a successful E-Rate and ECF application and reimbursement process. While each office hour has a theme, audience members are encouraged to participate and may suggest conversation topics in advance by e-mailing eratequestions@lists.k12hsn.org. Please visit K12HSN’s website to view previously recorded sessions and to sign up for upcoming sessions at https://www.k12hsn.org/resources/erate/training.

• Preparing for E-rate Filing Window Office Hour (recording available)
• E-rate Filing Window Best Practices Office Hour, February 25, 2022, 12:00 PM PT
• E-rate Filing Window Last Minute Tips and Preparing for Application Review Office Hour, March 11, 2022, 12:00 PM PT

Pre-Recorded Webinars Archive

Pre-recorded webinars are available on a wide variety of topics and are available for view at https://www.k12hsn.org/archived-E-Rate-webinars.

E-Rate Process: Activities to Work on Now

FCC Form 471 Filing Tips and Next Steps

As the FCC Form 471 deadline approaches on March 25, 2022, applicants should allow for adequate time to complete the necessary information for their applications and to submit and certify them by the deadline to be considered “within window.”

Review of Existing Services/Contracts

E-Rate applicants should review and verify contracts for all eligible services expected to continue through the next funding year (July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023), review bills for service, and ensure funding requests filed include all eligible services and costs expected, including taxes and surcharges. If you find discrepancies and have already certified your FCC Form 471 funding requests, you may either submit corrections via a Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (RAL) correction or submit a new FCC Form 471 with the correct information prior to the filing deadline. USAC will require you to cancel any duplicate funding requests.

New Services and Estimating Taxes and Surcharges

E-Rate applicants should review any bids and/or new contracts for service to ensure they are complete and include the entire costs of all services you expect to order in the 2022 funding year. If they do not include estimated taxes and surcharges, make sure to include these estimates in your funding requests. Some E-Rate eligible services, such as Internal Connections, are subject to California sales tax, while recurring broadband services may be subject to California Public Utilities Commission surcharges. If you are in any doubt as to whether or not your services will be subject to these, contact your awarded service provider for clarification. For current California sales tax rates, please visit: https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/sales-use-tax-rates.htm. For current California Public Utilities Commission Surcharges, please visit: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/internet-and-phone/telecommunications-surcharges-and-user-fees.  

Review Certified Applications and File Corrections

Once you have certified your FCC Form 471 application, it is a good idea to review the application for any errors. You may do this by reviewing the live FCC Form 471 in the EPC or by reviewing the PDF version of the original application. From your Billed Entity’s home page in EPC, select the FCC Forms menu to access the Funding Year 2022 certified forms. Each form filed will have a hyperlink taking you to the live form that you may click through to verify information, and also has a PDF link to the original form which you may download.

If you do identify an error, you may submit a request for correction through the Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (RAL) Correction process. See USAC’s Ministerial & Clerical Errors web page at https://www.usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/competitive-bidding/ministerial-clerical-errors/. Note that only certain FCC Form 471 ministerial and clerical errors may be corrected. If your error does not meet these criteria, it is better to file a new FCC Form 471 with the correct information prior to the filing deadline and to ask USAC to cancel the application that was filed in error. Any errors found after the filing deadline of March 22 must be corrected through the RAL process. Note that RAL corrections may be submitted to USAC up until a Funding Commitment Decision Letter is issued on the FCC Form 471 application.

Respond to USAC Program Integrity Assurance Review

All FCC Form 471 applications undergo Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) review. In some instances, USAC reviewers may reach out to the Contact person listed on the FCC Form 471 to ask questions about the application and/or request documentation to substantiate the eligibility of services, the eligibility of entities receiving services, and the data used to calculate the E-Rate discount. Applicants have 15 days to respond to USAC’s request for information and may request an additional seven-day extension. While responses to USAC’s questions occur in EPC, the outreach from USAC will be sent to the Contact’s e-mail address. Failure to respond to USAC’s questions will lead to the denial of the FCC Form 471 funding requests.