May 21, 2026
Funding Year (FY) 2026 Commitments
USAC released FY2026 Wave 1 on May 1 and Waves 2 and 3 on May 7 and May 14, respectively. As of May 20, FY2026 commitments total over $1.05 billion. On the date that FCDLs are issued, you can access your FCDL notification from the Notifications section of your landing page in EPC. You can also use the E-Rate Search Commitments Tool to look up prior funding year commitment data.
May 21, 2026
Service Providers: Don’t Forget to File
Service Providers: Don’t forget to file the FCC Form 473 in the E-Rate
Productivity Center (EPC) to certify your compliance with E-Rate program
rules, which is required for each year you participate in E-Rate. Service
providers must submit and certify an FY2026 FCC Form 473 (Service Provider
Annual Certification (SPAC)) as soon as possible, if you have not already done so
(See 47 C.F.R. § 54.504(f)). USAC cannot pay an invoice from either an
applicant (FCC Form 472) or a service provider (FCC Form 474) unless both the
FCC Form 486 and the SPAC forms have been certified and approved. The FCC
directed USAC to refer service providers who fail to submit the SPAC form and
prevent applicants from being able to submit BEAR reimbursement requests to
the FCC Enforcement Bureau for further action (see 2025 SPAC Order). View
Module 2: File an FCC Form 473 in the SP Course 1: Submitting and Certifying
Invoices in the EPC learning module to see step-by-step instructions.
May 21, 2026
Open Data Webinar Part 2: Creating Reports and Visualizations
The Open Data Webinar Part 2: Creating Reports and Visualizations will be on Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. E.T. This follow-up webinar to the Open Data Overview (Webinar 1) dives more deeply into using E-Rate data tools. Participants can expect tangible examples on how to create custom reports and visuals for an enhanced program experience. To be successful in this webinar, you should have attended Webinar 1. Register.
May 21, 2026
E-Rate Invoicing Webinar
The E-Rate Invoicing Webinar will be on Thursday, June 18, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. E.T. This webinar is designed to help E-Rate applicants and service providers of varying levels better understand the invoicing process, including the differences between the BEAR and SPI invoicing methods (FCC Form 472 and FCC Form 474). The webinar will also cover invoice deadlines, filing an invoice, reviews, and more. Applicants and service providers should review their respective eLearning Module courses prior to attending. Register.
