| Schools and Libraries News Brief
July 23, 2010
TIP OF THE WEEK: If you submit a BEAR Form online, do not also mail a paper copy of the form to USAC. If you file a BEAR Form on paper, include all four pages of the current version of the form (April 2007) and remember that the service provider – NOT the applicant – must complete page 4.
Commitments for Funding Year 2010
Funding Year 2010. USAC will release FY2010 Wave 10 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) July 27. This wave will include commitments for approved Priority 2 (Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance) requests at 90%. As of July 23, FY2010 commitments total just under $947 million.
On the day the FCDLs are mailed, you can check to see if you have a commitment by using USAC’s Automated Search of Commitments tool.
Reply Comments Due Monday on Two NPRMs and Draft FY2011 ESL
Reply comments on the two recent Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 10-83 and FCC 09-105) and/or the draft FY2011 Eligible Services List, released by the FCC, are due on or before July 26, 2010. Information on how to file comments is included in Public Notice DA 10-1045.
The FCC also urges any interested parties who would like to set up meetings with the FCC regarding these proceedings to do so as soon as possible.
Service Providers: Act Now to Submit Your Electronic Banking Information!
USAC will ONLY send payments electronically starting August 31, 2010 so update your Form 498 today!
On June 2, 2010 the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau announced that all federal Universal Service Fund (USF) support payments must be made by electronic funds transfer starting August 31 (See Public Notice DA 10-270). Beginning August 31, USAC will withhold support payments to any entity that has not provided electronic banking information.
Service providers that do not have electronic banking information on file for one or more of the support mechanisms in which they participate will not receive payments for those mechanisms. To avoid non-payment, service providers must update their banking information in advance of the August 31 date. USAC encourages all service providers to update their Form 498 information using USAC's E-File System.
Submit your electronic banking information in three simple steps:
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Log in to USAC's E-File System. (Please note: You have established a User ID and password, but if you do not remember them, please call (888) 641-8722 for assistance.)
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Select and revise your SPIN. Scroll through the form and type in the 'Financial Institution Account Number for ACH' you want to designate for each of the program support mechanisms you participate in: High Cost, Low Income, Rural Health Care, and/or Schools & Libraries. This will open your Form 498.
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Click Submit and Certify! At the end of the form, Company Officers can click to Certify; General Contacts can select 'Submit' which will then send notice to Company Officers to Certify.
Once the form has been certified, USAC will make all support payments electronically to the account(s) you designated on the Form 498.
For assistance E-filing your FCC Form 498, please view USAC's online video tutorials.
Note: if you have recently updated your Form 498 to include your banking information, please disregard this notice.
If you have any questions, please contact USAC Customer Service at (888) 641-8722 or by email. You may also visit us on the USAC website.
Fall Applicant Training Registration Continues
The Fall 2010 Applicant Training page on the USAC website has information on how to register and how to make hotel reservations for the six training sessions that are still open. Please cancel your registration if your plans change.
For questions, cancellations, or requests for information, you can continue to email USAC Training.
Erratum
In the July 16 SL News Brief, the denial threshold for FY2009 was incorrectly reported as 68%. The correct figure is 69%.
The online copy of this News Brief has been updated accordingly.
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