USACHigh CostResources
Announcements

Announcements

May 1, 2025
FCC Form 481 Due by July 1

USAC reminds all eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) participating in the High Cost and/or Lifeline programs that they must file and certify Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form 481 for program year 2026 by July 1, 2025. FCC Form 481, which is accessible through the USAC E-file/Okta One Portal, collects financial and operations information used to validate carrier support.

Please join USAC for a webinar at 1 p.m. EDT on Tues., May 20, 2025, to learn more about Form 481, including changes to the form for the current filing window.

Register Now 

Read the full announcement here.

April 30, 2025
Coming Soon: Verification Reviews to Confirm Broadband Deployment

Connect America Fund (CAF) deployment verification reviews are coming soon for carriers in funds that had 2024 broadband deployment milestones.

Now that the March 3, 2025, deadline for carriers to submit and certify their 2024 broadband deployment data in the High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal has passed, carriers participating in the following funds may be subject to verification reviews in 2025 to confirm deployment to a random sample of reported locations:

The verification review process is intended to ensure that carriers receiving CAF support are using it to deliver high-speed Internet access that meets mandated network performance standards to required location counts by relevant milestone deadlines in unserved and underserved communities eligible for funding. Carriers in these funds should be prepared to submit documentation that serves as proof of deployment for each HUBB record selected for review in the months ahead.

Read the full announcement here.

April 4, 2025
FCC Form 481 Filing System Now Open

All eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) participating in the High Cost and/or Lifeline programs may now access the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form 481 for program year 2026 through the USAC E-file/Okta One Portal and begin the annual Form 481 filing process. FCC Form 481, which must be certified by July 1, 2025, collects financial and operations information used to validate carrier support, fulfilling the annual 54.313 reporting requirement for High Cost funding recipients.

Please join USAC for a webinar at 1 p.m. EDT on Tues., May 20, 2025, to learn more about Form 481, including changes to the form for the current filing window.

Register Now 

Read the full announcement here.

April 4, 2025
Carriers Must Submit and Certify Q1 Network Testing Results by April 15

USAC reminds carriers that they have until Tues., April 15, 2025, to submit and certify results from network speed and latency testing conducted in the first quarter of 2025 at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) in order to comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures compliance framework.

Carriers in the following funds were required to complete a full week of speed and latency testing of their CAF-supported networks by the end of the first quarter on March 31, 2025, and must submit and certify all test data for each obligated speed tier for the full sample of selected locations in the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM) by the April 15, 2025, deadline.

Quarterly testing mandates currently apply to carriers in the following funds (as well as ACS):

Carriers that did not perform network performance measures testing during the first quarter for any reason, including lack of active subscribers to test, and therefore do not have test data to submit and certify must notify the FCC and USAC no later than April 15, 2025, by emailing ConnectAmerica@fcc.gov and hccerts@usac.org. Carriers that certify their test data after the April 15, 2025, deadline will face a reduction in support that will not be restored. (See FCC DA 25-289) Carriers that attempt to certify test data in the PMM after the April 15, 2025, deadline will see a late certification warning informing them of penalties and will be required to provide a “late certification explanation” in order to submit their test results.

Read the full announcement here

April 4, 2025
RDOF Carriers Must Submit and Certify Q1 Network Pre-Testing Results by April 15

USAC reminds carriers participating in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) that they have until Tues., April 15, 2025, to submit and certify results from network speed and latency pre-testing conducted in the first quarter of 2025 at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) in order to comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures compliance framework.

RDOF carriers that did not perform network performance measures pre-testing during the first quarter for any reason, including lack of active subscribers to test, and therefore do not have test data to submit and certify must notify the FCC and USAC no later than April 15, 2025, by emailing ConnectAmerica@fcc.gov and hccerts@usac.org. Carriers that certify their pre-test data after the April 15, 2025, deadline will face withholding of support. (See FCC DA 25-289) Carriers that attempt to certify pre-test data in the PMM after the April 15, 2025, deadline will see a late certification warning informing them of penalties and will be required to provide a “late certification explanation” in order to submit their test results.

Read the full announcement here.

March 24, 2025
Q1 Performance Measures Testing Must be Complete by March 31

USAC reminds carriers subject to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework that they must complete a week of first quarter network speed and latency testing at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) by Mon., March 31, 2025, and must submit and certify the results of that testing through the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM) by Tues., April 15, 2025.

Failure to complete a full week of speed and latency testing at the selected subscriber locations by the end of the first quarter on March 31, 2025, or to submit and certify all test data for each obligated speed tier for the full sample of selected locations by the April 15, 2025, deadline will impact future CAF support payments.

Quarterly testing mandates currently apply to carriers in the following funds (as well as ACS):

Carriers in these funds that did not perform network performance measures testing during the first quarter for any reason, and therefore do not have test data to submit and certify, must notify the FCC and USAC by April 15, 2025, by emailing ConnectAmerica@fcc.gov and hccerts@usac.org. Carriers that certify their test data after the April 15, 2025, deadline will face a reduction in support that will not be restored.

Read the full announcement here.

March 24, 2025
Q1 Performance Measures Pre-Testing Must be Complete by March 31

USAC reminds carriers participating in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) that they must complete a week of first quarter network speed and latency testing at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) by Mon., March 31, 2025, and must submit and certify the results of that testing through the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM) by Tues., April 15, 2025, in order to comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework.

RDOF carriers that did not perform network performance measures pre-testing during the first quarter for any reason, and therefore do not have test data to submit and certify, must notify the FCC and USAC by April 15, 2025, by emailing ConnectAmerica@fcc.gov and hccerts@usac.org. Carriers that certify their pre-test data after the April 15, 2025, deadline will face withholding of support.

Read the full announcement here.

February 24, 2025
Compliance Reports Now Available for Fourth Quarter Network Testing

Carriers that submitted and certified results from network performance measures testing conducted at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF)in the fourth quarter of 2024 can now access compliance reports displaying the results of that testing through the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM). These compliance reports include details at the Study Area Code (SAC) level about the percent of upload and download speed tests and latency tests conducted in the fourth quarter that met the network performance standards established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)  performance measures compliance framework. Please see PMM Compliance Calculations for a detailed explanation of how the PMM calculates compliance.

USAC provides quarterly compliance reports to carriers that certify their test results within one week of the end of the quarter – which was no later than Tues., Jan. 7, 2025, for test results from the fourth quarter of 2024 – to help them track their progress in meeting FCC speed and latency metrics, submit any missing data and address any shortfalls moving forward. Fourth quarter compliance reports are now available in the PMM for carriers participating in the following funds (as well as ACS) if they filed and certified their first quarter test results with USAC by Jan. 7, 2025:

Read the full announcement here.

February 11, 2025
Annual HUBB Filing Due March 3, 2025

The annual HUBB filing deadline is less than a month away. Carriers participating in modernized Connect America Fund (CAF) programs with defined fixed broadband buildout obligations have until March 3, 2025, to file and certify deployment data with USAC’s High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal showing where they built out mass-market, high-speed Internet service in calendar year 2024 or certify that they have “no locations to upload.”

This includes carriers participating in the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced ACAM) program, which will be filing in the HUBB for the first time and will be reporting deployment data using the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric), a single, standardized dataset of all locations in the U.S. where fixed broadband access service is available or could be installed. 

Read the full announcement here.

February 6, 2025
USAC Encourages RDOF Carriers to Obtain Samples for Network Pre-Testing ASAP

USAC strongly encourages carriers participating in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) to obtain their random samples of active subscriber locations for quarterly network speed and latency pre-testing starting this year as soon as possible so that they have enough time to complete a full week of pre-testing at these locations before the end of the first quarter in order to comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework.

RDOF carriers that have not already done so should begin this process now – starting by updating their broadband deployment data in the High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal to be as complete and accurate as possible – and then uploading their subscriber location data into the PMM and generating their random samples for pre-testing. Read the full announcement here.

February 6, 2025
USAC Encourages Carriers to Obtain New Samples for Network Testing ASAP

USAC strongly encourages all carriers that must obtain new random samples of active subscriber locations for ongoing quarterly network speed and latency testing in 2025 to begin this process as soon as possible so that they have enough time to complete a full week of testing at the new locations before the end of the first quarter in order to comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework.

Carriers participating in the Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Original ACAM), Revised Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Revised ACAM), Rural Broadband Experiments (RBE) and Alaska Plan funds just finished their fourth full year of network performance measures testing mandated by the FCC – and their eighth and final quarter of testing with their previous random samples of CAF-supported broadband locations with active subscribers – and must therefore obtain new samples for quarterly testing that starts in the first quarter of 2025. The FCC requires carriers to obtain new random samples of subscriber locations after two years of network testing.

USAC strongly encourages carriers that have not already done so to begin this process now – starting by updating their broadband deployment data in the High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal to be as complete and accurate as possible – and then uploading their subscriber location data into the PMM and generating new samples. Read the full announcement here.

January 28, 2025
Compliance Reports For 2023 Testing Now Available for CAF BLS Carriers

Carriers participating in the Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF BLS) program can now access annual compliance reports displaying results from network performance measures testing conducted in 2023 through the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM). These compliance reports include details at the Study Area Code (SAC) level about the percent of upload and download speed tests and latency tests aggregated across all four quarters of 2023 that met the network performance standards mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) performance measures compliance framework. Please see PMM Compliance Calculations for a detailed explanation of how the PMM calculates compliance.

CAF BLS carriers that were out of compliance for 2023 testing have the option to request a new and statistically valid random sample of CAF BLS locations with active subscribers to continue testing for an additional four quarters – starting in the second quarter of 2025 – in order to get back into compliance with FCC network performance requirements and avoid recovery of support.

This option is available to carriers that are still participating in the CAF BLS program, which is subject to ongoing quarterly network testing requirements in 2025. It is also available to carriers that transitioned to Enhanced ACAM from CAF BLS in 2024. These carriers would need to resume CAF BLS quarterly testing with a new and statistically valid random sample. (See FCC DA 23-1131). Read the full announcement here.

January 2, 2025
USAC Encourages Carriers to Submit and Certify Fourth Quarter Network Testing Results by Jan. 7

USAC encourages carriers to submit and certify results from network speed and latency testing conducted in the fourth quarter of 2024 at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) in the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM) by Tues., Jan. 7, 2025, so that USAC can produce fourth quarter compliance reports to help carriers track their progress in meeting the requirements of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures compliance framework.

USAC provides quarterly compliance reports to carriers that certify their test results within one week of the end of the quarter – no later than Tues., Jan. 7, 2025, for results from the fourth quarter of 2024 – to help them track their progress in meeting FCC speed and latency metrics, address any shortfalls and submit any missing data. Read the full announcement here.

December 27, 2024
Q4 Performance Measures Testing Must Be Complete by Dec. 31

USAC reminds carriers subject to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework that they must complete a week of fourth quarter network speed and latency testing at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) by Tues., Dec. 31, 2024, and encourages carriers to submit and certify the results of that testing through the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM) as soon as possible after testing is done.

USAC provides quarterly compliance reports to carriers that certify their test results within one week of the end of the quarter – no later than Tues., Jan. 7, 2025, for fourth quarter results – to help them track their progress in meeting FCC speed and latency metrics and address any shortfalls.

Quarterly testing mandates currently apply to carriers in the following funds (as well as ACS):

 Read the full announcement here.

December 26, 2024
Compliance Reports Now Available for 2023 and Q2, Q3 2024 Network Testing

Carriers subject to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework can now access compliance reports displaying annual results from network performance measures testing conducted in 2023 through the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM). These compliance reports include details at the Study Area Code (SAC) level about the percent of upload and download speed tests and latency tests aggregated across all four quarters of 2023 that met the network performance standards established by the FCC performance measures compliance framework. Please see PMM Compliance Calculations for a detailed explanation of how the PMM calculates compliance.

Annual compliance reports for 2023 are now available in the PMM for carriers participating in the following funds (as well as ACS):

Carriers in these funds can also access compliance reports for the second and third quarters of 2024 through the PMM if they submitted and certified their second quarter test results by April 12, 2024, and their third quarter results by Oct. 7, 2024.

Note that USAC is still processing compliance reports for carriers participating in the Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF BLS) program and will make those available as soon as possible. Read the full announcement here.

December 13, 2024
USAC Launches New CAF State Map

USAC has launched a new online map that provides a big-picture, state-level view of the impact of the Connect America Fund (CAF) on broadband expansion in rural America, as well as a new online search tool that displays details about CAF-supported broadband deployment by speed tier.

The new map and tool are the latest additions to a series of online applications that provide public access to broadband deployment and payment information for the Connect America Fund as part of USAC’s Open Data initiative, which makes data about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF) available and easily accessible to the general public. 

The new Connect America Fund State Map (CAF State Map) displays total broadband deployment obligations by location count, total cumulative deployment reported so far by location count and total cumulative funding paid out to date – all on a state-by-state basis – by aggregating data for all carriers participating in the Connect America Fund in each state. Read the full announcement here.

All announcements can be found in the Announcements Archive.

Go to Archive