April 7, 2026
Carriers Must Certify Q1 Network Test Results or Attest to No Testing by April 15
USAC reminds carriers subject to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) performance measures testing framework that they have until Wed., April 15, 2026, to submit and certify results from network speed and latency testing conducted in the first quarter of 2026 at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) and reported in the High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal in order to comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework.
Failure to complete a full week of speed and latency testing for all obligated speed tiers at the full sample of selected subscriber locations by the end of the first quarter, on March 31, 2026, or to submit and certify all first quarter test data in the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM) by the April 15, 2026, deadline may impact future CAF support payments. (See FCC DA 26-277 and FCC DA 25-289)
This requirement applies to carriers in the following funds (as well as ACS):
Carriers that did not conduct all required network performance measures testing during the first quarter because they do not have any locations reported yet in the HUBB or cannot find active subscribers to test for a particular Study Area Code (SAC) and speed tier combination must attest to this (and provide an explanation) in the PMM by the April 15, 2026, deadline and may be subject to verification review that subscribers are not available.
Carriers that did not conduct all required network performance measures testing during the first quarter for any other reason – including carriers that obtained a subscriber location sample for a particular SAC and speed tier combination but did not have time to set up testing – must also attest to this (and provide an explanation) in the PMM by the April 15, 2026, deadline and may see an impact on compliance calculations.
Carriers should no longer separately notify the FCC and USAC by email that they did not conduct all required network testing for any reason, including a lack of active subscribers to test. USAC and the FCC will no longer accept no-subscriber or no-testing attestations by email as a form of quarterly certification. (See FCC DA 26-277.)
To help carriers identify any missing samples of subscriber locations for testing, missing test data or missing data certifications (or no-subscriber or no-testing attestations), the PMM features a new home page dashboard that provides a consolidated view of a carrier’s status in generating samples, uploading test data and certifying test data (or attesting to no subscribers or no testing) for each required SAC and speed tier combination every quarter. The dashboard also allows carriers to filter this information by quarter, fund, SAC and state to track their progress.
Read the full announcement here.
April 7, 2026
Carriers Must Certify Q1 Network Pre-Test Results or Attest to No Testing by April 15
USAC reminds carriers participating in the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced ACAM) program that they have until Wed., April 15, 2026, to submit and certify results from network speed and latency pre-testing conducted in the first quarter of 2026 at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) and reported in the High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal in order to comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework.
Failure to complete a full week of speed and latency pre-testing for all obligated speed tiers at the full sample of selected subscriber locations by the end of the first quarter, on March 31, 2026, or to submit and certify all first quarter pre-test data in the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM) by the April 15, 2026, deadline may impact future CAF support payments. (See FCC DA 26-277 and FCC DA 25-289)
Enhanced ACAM carriers that did not conduct all required network performance measures pre-testing during the first quarter because they do not have any locations reported yet in the HUBB or cannot find active subscribers to test for a particular Study Area Code (SAC) and speed tier combination must attest to this (and provide an explanation) in the PMM by the April 15, 2026, deadline and may be subject to verification review that subscribers are not available.
Enhanced ACAM carriers that did not conduct all required network performance measures pre-testing during the first quarter for any other reason – including carriers that obtained a subscriber location sample for a particular SAC and speed tier combination but did not have time to set up testing – must also attest to this (and provide an explanation) in the PMM by the April 15, 2026, deadline and may see withholding of support until they begin and certify results from the required pre-testing.
To help carriers identify any missing samples, missing test data or missing data certifications (or no-subscriber or no-testing attestations), the PMM features a new home page dashboard that provides a consolidated view of a carrier’s status in generating subscriber location samples for testing, uploading test data and certifying test data (or attesting to no subscribers or no testing) for each required SAC and speed tier combination every quarter. The dashboard also allows carriers to filter this information by quarter, fund, SAC and state to track their progress.
Read the full announcement here.
April 7, 2026
New Legacy Data Collection Portal to Collect Tariff Review Plan Filings
USAC’s new online legacy data collection portal, which lets carriers submit key legacy data filings through the USAC E-File system, will accept annual access charge tariffs and Tariff Review Plan (TRP) filings from carriers receiving Intercarrier Compensation (ICC) Recovery support beginning on Thurs., April 23, 2026.
Carriers receiving ICC support must submit this annual filing through the new portal no later June 16, 2026. The data will be used to determine ICC Recovery support between July 2026 and June 2027.
Please join USAC at 1 p.m. ET on Tues., April 21, 2026, for a webinar overview of the new legacy data collection portal and a walkthrough of the system, with a focus on the annual TRP filing. USAC launched the new portal in early 2026 to replace manual data collection processes for key legacy filings required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Register here.
Read the full announcement here.
March 24, 2026
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 Tues., March 31, 2026, and must submit and certify the results of that testing through the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM) no later than Wed., April 15, 2026.
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, 2026, or to submit and certify all test data for all obligated speed tiers for the full sample of locations selected for testing – or attest that a carrier could not find active subscribers to test for a particular Study Area Code (SAC) and speed tier combination – by April 15, 2026, may impact future CAF support payments. (See FCC DA 26-277 and FCC DA 25-289)
This requirementapplies to carriers in the following funds (as well as ACS):
Carriers that did not conduct all required network performance measures testing during the first quarter because they could not find active subscribers to test for a particular SAC and speed tier combination must attest to this (and provide an explanation) in the PMM by the April 15, 2026, deadline and may be subject to verification review that subscribers were not available.Â
Carriers that did not conduct all required network performance measures testing during the first quarter for any other reason – including carriers that obtained a subscriber location sample for a particular SAC and speed tier combination but did not have time to set up testing – must also attest to this (and provide an explanation) in the PMM by the April 15, 2026, deadline and may see an impact on compliance calculations.Â
Carriers should no longer separately notify the FCC and USAC by email that they did not conduct all required network testing for any reason, including a lack of active subscribers to test. USAC and the FCC will no longer accept no-subscriber or no-testing attestations by email as a form of quarterly certification. (See FCC DA 26-277.)
To help carriers identify any missing samples of subscriber locations for testing, missing test data or missing data certifications (or no-subscriber or no-testing attestations), the PMM features a new home page dashboard that provides a consolidated view of a carrier’s status in generating samples, uploading test data and certifying test data (or attesting to no subscribers or no testing) for each required SAC and speed tier combination every quarter. The dashboard also allows carriers to filter this information by quarter, fund, SAC and state to track their progress.
Read the full announcement here.
