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.
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.Â
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.
