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.
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.
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.
