April 29, 2026
Coming Soon: Verification Reviews to Confirm Broadband Deployment
Connect America Fund (CAF) broadband deployment verification reviews are coming soon for carriers in funds that had 2025 deployment milestones.
Now that the March 2, 2026, deadline for carriers to submit and certify their 2025 CAF deployment data in the High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal has passed, carriers participating in the following funds (as well as ACS) may be subject to verification reviews in 2026 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 speeds and network performance standards to required location counts by relevant milestone deadlines in areas eligible for funding. Carriers in these funds should be familiar with the process and 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 16, 2026
RDOF and PR/USVI Funds Carriers Must Resume Network Testing in Second Half of 2026
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) must resume quarterly network speed and latency testing 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 the second half of 2026 in order to comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) performance measures testing requirements.
RDOF and PR/USVI Funds carriers may now log into the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM), the USAC system that supports the FCC performance measures compliance framework, to generate their random samples of subscriber locations to resume quarterly testing beginning in the third quarter of 2026.
USAC strongly encourages carriers to begin this process as soon as possible – starting by updating their broadband deployment data in the HUBB to be as complete and accurate as possible – before then uploading their subscriber location data into the PMM and generating their random samples for testing. See steps below.
Please join USAC at 12:30 p.m. EDT on Thurs., May 14, 2026, for a webinar overview of the FCC performance measures testing requirements and the process for generating random samples of broadband subscriber locations for testing, as well as a walkthrough of the PMM. This webinar will also cover new PMM functionality to support quarterly carrier certification requirements – mandating that carriers submit and certify their test results (or attest to no subscribers or no testing) within two weeks of the end of every quarter – as well as a new PMM homepage dashboard to help carriers identify any missing subscriber location samples, missing test data or missing data certifications (or no-subscriber or no-testing attestations). Register here.
Read the full announcement here.
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.
