Rural Health Care
Pilot Program
Outreach
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Latest News
Below are current news announcements relevant to the Rural Health Care Pilot Program.
OMB Approves Data Collection for Comprehensive Review of the Universal Service Fund Management, Administration, and Oversight. (FCC 07-150, released August 29, 2007)
This Order extended to service providers the current requirement that rural health care providers retain records to show that funding was proper for five years from the last day of delivery of a discounted service. The Order also clarified any other documents that demonstrate compliance with statutory or regulatory requirements for the rural health care mechanism shall be retained and that such records must be made available by contractors and consultants working on behalf of rural health care providers. The OMB approval was 1/23/2008.
USAC to Hold Service Provider/Vendor Call February 7
The Rural Health Care Pilot Program Team will be hosting a conference call tomorrow, February 7, at 2:00 p.m. ET for service providers and vendors that may want to participate in the Rural Health Care Pilot Program.
You are receiving this email either because you have been a service provider in the Rural Health Care Program in previous funding years or because you submitted your email address to Rhcpilot@usac.org. We will hold additional information sessions for service providers and vendors in the near future in case you are unable to attend this conference call. Instructions for the conference call and an agenda will be emailed in advance. Additional information will be posted soon on USAC's Rural Health Care Pilot Program website.
Agenda for February 7
- Introduction to the Pilot Program
- Competitive Bidding
- Invoicing
- Question and Answer
Here is the telephone number and pass code for the conference call:
Primary Dial-In: 1 (888) 283-3446
Alternate Dial-In: 1 (630) 693-3447
Pass code: 7658871# (be sure to press the pound key)
Conference Call Guidelines
- Please use your mute button if you are not asking a question on the call; with the large number of call-ins this should cut down on the background interference noise.
- If you don't have a mute button, hit *6 which acts as a mute.
- Please be sure to mute your phone in one of the above ways if you are using a cell phone.
- If you have music on hold, please do NOT put the conference call on hold.
- Please be courteous to others on the phone; try to listen to questions as they may be relevant to you at some point.
- Please avoid side conversations, which can be picked up by your phone's microphone.
- Please let RHC know if you have trouble with the connection, so we can try to reach the operator.
Wireline Competition Bureau Announces OMB Approval of the Universal Service Rural Health Care Pilot Program Information Collection Requirements
Public Notice : Acrobat [142kb]
WCB Letter Explaining Carry Over of Universal Service Funds for the Pilot Program
Letter: Acrobat [154kb]
FCC Selects 69 Rural Health Care Pilot Program Applicants for $417 Million in Funding over Three Years
The Federal Communications Commission dedicated over $417 million for its Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) for the construction of 69 statewide or regional broadband telehealth networks in 42 states and three U.S. territories.
The FCC modified the Pilot Program by increasing the funding period from two years to three years and by increasing the available support for selected participants to approximately $139 million in each funding year of the three-year program. Below are the list of program applicants, the FCC’s news release, the order selecting the participants, and the statements of the FCC Chairman and Commissioners.
Selected Participants: Word | PDF
News Release: Word | PDF
Corrected Order: Word | PDF
Martin Statement: Word | PDF
Copps Statement: Word | PDF
Adelstein Statement: Word | PDF
Tate Statement: Word | PDF
McDowell Statement: Word | PDF
FCC Expands Eligibility To Include National Lambdarail's Backbone In Rural Health Care Pilot
- DOC-270344A1 [PDF, 106 KB]
Federal Communications Commission Adopts Pilot Program Under Rural Health Care Mechanism
On Tuesday, September 26, 2006, the Federal Communications Commission announced the establishment of a pilot program to help public and non-profit health care providers build state and region-wide broadband networks dedicated to the provision of health care services, and connect those networks to Internet2. The pilot program will fund up to 85% of the costs incurred to deploy state or regional broadband networks dedicated to health care and up to 85% of the costs of connecting the regional and/or statewide to Internet2.
For further information about the new pilot program, click on the link below to read the complete FCC news release.
USAC will provide more information as it becomes available.
- DOC-267605A1 [PDF, 106 KB]
- FCC Pilot Program FAQs
