Announcements
June 26, 2025
2025 In-Person E-Rate Training
E-Rate experts will provide training, discuss program updates, and answer questions from new and experienced participants. Registration for these two in-person training events on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at 3:00 pm ET (this time has been adjusted to better serve program participants on both the East and West coasts). For more information on these events and to register, visit the In-Person E-Rate Training Events webpage.
E-Rate Training – Denver: September 9, 2025, at the Lowry Conference Center located in the Community College of Aurora – Lowry Campus, 1061 Akron Way, Denver, Colorado.
E-Rate In-Person Training – Washington, DC: September 16, 2025, at the Federal Communication Commission headquarters, 45 L Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. There will be an option to attend virtually.
June 19, 2025
FCC Form 470 and the Competitive Bidding Process Webinar
This webinar will provide E-Rate participants with information on how to file the FCC Form 470 and the E-Rate competitive bidding process. This webinar is designed for applicants and service providers of all levels of E-Rate experience, with a focus on beginner-level participants. Register.
June 19, 2025
Service Providers: File any SPACs for Prior Years
If you haven’t already filed your FCC Form 473 (SPAC) for FY2024 and earlier, the deadline to submit these forms is June 30, 2025. USAC will send a reminder to service providers on July 1 if they have not submitted a SPAC for any funding year, Funding Request Numbers they are associated with. Service providers will have two weeks after the reminder to file their missing SPACs, after which USAC begins the referral process to the FCC Enforcement Bureau. To learn more about service provider filing requirements, see last month’s news brief.
June 19, 2025
Category Two Funding Floors and Multipliers for Next Funding Cycle
FCC Wireline Competition Bureau issued a public notice on June 4 (DA 25-471) announcing the Category Two (C2) multipliers and funding floors for the upcoming five-year budget cycle that starts in Funding Year (FY) 2026 and runs through FY2030. For the FY2026- 2030 cycle, the C2 budget funding floor is adjusted from $25,000 to $30,175. For Tribal libraries, the funding floor is adjusted from $55,000 to $66,385.12. The school and school district C2 budget multiplier is adjusted from $167 per student to $201.57 per student, and the library and library system C2 budget multiplier is adjusted from $4.50 per square foot to $5.43 per square foot. Applicants will be required to validate their student counts or library square footage in the first year they apply for C2 support during the FY2026 – 2030 cycle.
May 23, 2025
International Society for Technology in Education’s ISTELive Conference (Texas)
Visit USAC at the International Society for Technology in Education’s ISTELive Conference (Texas), June 29–July 2, 2025. Event link.
May 23, 2025
Service Provider Webinar
This webinar is for Service Providers who are new to the E-Rate program. After attending this webinar, you will be able to: accurately describe what E-Rate is and the different steps of the E-Rate process, obtain a service provider identification number (SPIN), bid on projects, assist the applicant or beneficiary, certify compliance, and invoice USAC. Before attending this webinar, please review the E-Rate Program Overview webinar for a deeper understanding of the program. Register.
May 22, 2025
Invoicing: Applicant & Service Provider Training
The E-Rate program will host an Invoice Training Webinar. This webinar is designed to help E-Rate program participants (applicants and service providers) understand the invoicing process. The webinar will cover how to submit the FCC Form 472 (BEAR Form) and the FCC Form 474 (SPI Form), invoice deadlines, invoicing reviews, and more. After the presentation, there will conduct a live Q&A session. This webinar is recommended for Applicants and Service Providers at all E-Rate experience levels. Register.
April 23, 2025
FCC Suspends Seven Convicted of Fraud from E-Rate Program
On April 16, 2025, the FCC suspended seven individuals who were convicted of fraud related to their participation in the E-Rate program. From around 2010 to 2016, corporations controlled by these individuals requested over $35 million and received over $14 million in E-Rate funds, but they did not provide much of the equipment for which they billed the federal government. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau suspended each individual from further participation in the E-Rate program and began proceedings to ban them from participation in the future.
April 17, 2025
American Libraries Association (ALA) Annual Conference (Pennsylvania)
Visit USAC at the American Libraries Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from June 26-30. Event link.
April 17, 2025
Beginning E-Rate Services
This webinar will provide E-Rate participants with an overview of the start of E-Rate services covering the FCC Form 486, CIPA guidance, and Post Commitment Adjustments, and EPC guidance. Register
April 10, 2025
Scheduled Maintenance on USAC.org
USAC will perform scheduled maintenance on USAC.org on Thursday, April 17 from 9 p.m. – midnight. During this time, users may experience disruptions or outages when visiting USAC.org. We apologize for the inconvenience.
March 20, 2025
2025 NTTA National Tribal Broadband Summit
Visit USAC at the 2025 NTTA National Tribal Broadband Summit on March 31–April 2, 2025 in Gila River, Arizona. Event link.
March 20, 2025
Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) and the Selective Review Processes
This webinar will provide E-Rate participants with an overview of the Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) process, including the FCC Form 471 review, preparing for a PIA review, handling PIA inquiries, the selective review process, and Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDL). Register
February 21, 2025
Extended CSC Hours for Final Days of the Application Filing Window
The E-Rate Customer Service Center (CSC) will be open extended hours before the March 26, 2025 deadline for the close of the FY2025 FCC Form 471 application filing window to help applicants with last-minute questions and any issues. Call CSC at (888) 203-8100 for assistance.
Below are CSC’s extended hours beginning Saturday, March 22, through Wednesday, March 26 (all times are Eastern Time (E.T.)):
Saturday, March 22 – 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, March 23 – 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday, March 24 – 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Tuesday, March 25 – 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26 – 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.
February 21, 2025
Computers in Libraries Conference 2025
Visit USAC at Booth #115 at the Computers in Libraries Conference to be held March 25 – 27, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. Event link.
February 4, 2025
E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC) Outage Due to System Maintenance
The E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC) and the EPC training site will be unavailable on Friday, February 21, 2025 from 6 p.m. to Saturday, February 22, 12 p.m. ET for system maintenance. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use EPC. We apologize for any inconvenience.
January 31, 2025
Pre-Commitment Process (FCC Forms 470, 471, ESL, etc.) E-Rate Question & Answer (Q&A) Session 2025
On February 11, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST, E-Rate subject matter experts will answer questions about the competitive bidding process, Category Two budgets, and the Eligible Services List. This is recommended for applicants and service providers of all E-Rate experience levels. Please review the pre-requisites PRIOR to the webinar: