June 9, 2026
Carriers Must Obtain New Samples to Resume Network Testing in Q3
USAC reminds carriers participating in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) and the Bringing Puerto Rico Together (Uniendo a Puerto Rico) Fund and the Connect USVI Fund (PR/USVI Funds) programs that they must obtain new random samples of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) and reported in the High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal using location IDs from the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) to resume quarterly network speed and latency testing in the second half of 2026.
The USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM), the USAC system that supports the mandatory Federal Communications Commission (FCC) network testing framework, is ready to generate new samples for RDOF and PR/USVI Funds carriers. USAC strongly encourages carriers that have not already done so to begin this process now – starting by updating their broadband deployment data in the HUBB to be as complete and accurate as possible and then uploading their subscriber location data into the PMM and generating new samples (see steps below) – so that they have enough time to complete a full week of testing at the selected locations before the end of the third quarter of the year.
Read the full announcement here.
June 1, 2026
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 submit and certify Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form 481 for program year 2027 no later than Wed., July 1, 2026. FCC Form 481, which is accessible through the USAC E-File/Okta One Portal, collects financial and operations information used to validate carrier support, fulfilling the annual 54.313 reporting requirement for High Cost funding recipients.
State utility commissions also rely on Form 481 data to perform the annual certification of ETCs under their jurisdiction to be able to participate in the High Cost program, as mandated under 47 CFR Section 54.314. This federal regulation requires state utility commissions to certify by Oct. 1 annually that carriers under their jurisdiction are eligible to receive High Cost support in their states and used all support collected in the proceeding calendar year only to provide, maintain and upgrade the facilities for which the support was intended and will do the same in the coming calendar year.
Read the full announcement here.
May 20, 2026
Compliance Reports Now Available for First Quarter Network Testing
Carriers subject to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework can now access compliance reports displaying results from network performance measures testing conducted in the first quarter of 2026 at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) 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 first quarter of the year 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.
First quarter compliance reports are now available in the PMM for carriers participating in the following funds (as well as ACS):
USAC encourages carriers to check these compliance reports to confirm that they submitted and certified all required first quarter test data – or attested to no subscribers or no testing for the quarter – for the full sample of subscriber locations selected for testing for each SAC and obligated speed tier combination, and to find out if their first quarter test results met FCC standards.
Carriers that have not yet submitted and certified all required first quarter test data – or all required no-subscriber or no-testing attestations – should do so as soon as possible to reduce the impact on future support payments. And carriers that are at risk of being out of compliance because their speed and latency test results did not meet FCC standards can potentially get back into compliance by submitting passing quarterly results going forward.
USAC also reminds carriers in the funds listed above that they must complete a full week of second quarter speed and latency testing by Tues. June 30, 2026, and must submit and certify all test results for the full sample of selected subscriber locations for each SAC and obligated speed tier combination – or attest that they did not conduct testing because they cannot find active subscribers to test for a particular SAC and speed tier combination or another reason – no later than Wed., July 15, 2026. Failure to complete a full week of testing by the end of the second quarter, on June 30, 2026, or to submit and certify all required test data – or all required no-subscriber or no-testing attestations – in the PMM by the July 15, 2026, deadline may impact future CAF support payments. (See FCC DA 26-277 and FCC DA 25-289).
Read the full announcement here.
May 20, 2026
Compliance Reports Now Available for First Quarter Network Pre-Testing
Carriers participating in the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced ACAM) program can now access compliance reports displaying results from network performance measures pre-testing conducted in the first quarter of 2026 at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) 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 first quarter of the year that met the network performance standards established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) performance measures compliance framework.
USAC encourages Enhanced ACAM carriers to check these compliance reports to confirm that they submitted and certified all required first quarter pre-test data – or attested to no subscribers or no testing for the quarter – for the full sample of subscriber locations selected for testing for each SAC and obligated speed tier combination, and to find out if their first quarter pre-test results met FCC standards. Please see PMM Compliance Calculations for a detailed explanation of how the PMM calculates compliance.
Carriers that have not yet submitted and certified all required first pre-quarter test data – or all required no-subscriber or no-testing attestations – should do so as soon as possible to minimize potential withholding of support.
USAC also reminds Enhanced ACAM carriers that they must complete a full week of second quarter speed and latency pre-testing by Tues. June 30, 2026, and must submit and certify all pre-test results for the full sample of selected subscriber locations for each SAC and obligated speed tier combination – or attest that they cannot find five active subscribers to test for a particular SAC and speed tier combination – no later than Wed., July 15, 2026. Failure to complete a full week of pre-testing by the end of the second quarter, on June 30, 2026, or to submit and certify all required pre-test data – or all required no-subscriber or no-testing attestations – in the PMM by the July 15, 2026, deadline may result in withholding of CAF support payments. (See FCC DA 26-277 and FCC DA 25-289).
Read the full announcement here.
May 12, 2026
CAF ICC Carriers Have Until June 26 to Submit Annual Tariff Filings to USAC
Incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) receiving Intercarrier Compensation (ICC) Recovery support have until Fri., June 26, 2026, to submit their annual access charge tariffs and Tariff Review Plans (TRPs) through USAC’s new online legacy data collection portal. The data submitted in this filing – which carriers must also submit separately to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by Tues., June 16, 2026 – will be used to determine ICC Recovery support between July 2026 and June 2027.
Intercarrier Compensation Recovery is the component of the Connect America Fund (CAF) that supports reforms to the intercarrier compensation system, the system of regulated payments among carriers to compensate each other for the origination, transport and termination of telecommunications traffic. In 2011, the FCC adopted rules requiring incumbent local exchange carriers to reduce many of these switched access rates over a multi-year period.
ICC Recovery support enables ILECs to recover a decreasing portion of revenue lost due to reductions in switched access rates. The FCC allows carriers to charge residential customers an Access Recovery Charge (ARC) on a limited basis and recover charges from certain multi-line business customers. If eligible, ILECs may receive additional recovery funds provided they meet certain broadband service obligations.
Read the full announcement here.
