Announcements
June 16, 2026
FCC Announces 3Q26 Contribution Factor 38.8%
The FCC released a Public Notice, DA 26-546, announcing that the proposed universal service contribution factor for the third quarter of 2026 (July, August, September) will be .388 or 38.8 percent.
June 15, 2026
** Resolved** Service Provider Payment System Unexpected Outage
Pay.gov was experiencing an unexpected outage, beginning at approximately 6:15 AM Eastern. Operations have been fully restored, and services are available for general use.
April 23, 2026
Service Provider Payment System Unavailable
Service providers will be unable to make payments using E-File on the following dates from 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET.
- Saturday, May 9
- Saturday, June 6
On these dates, Pay.gov services will be offline for internal maintenance.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
March 24, 2026
FCC Bans Seven Convicted E-Rate Fraudsters from USF Programs
On March 20, 2026, the FCC barred seven individuals who had been convicted of defrauding the E-Rate program from participating in activities associated with any Universal Service Fund-supported program. Corporations controlled by these individuals received over $14 million in E-Rate funds from 2010 to 2016 but failed to provide much of the equipment for which they had billed the federal government. Read more in the FCC’s press release.
March 17, 2026
FCC Announces 2Q26 Contribution Factor 37.0%
The FCC released a Public Notice, DA 26-218, announcing that the proposed universal service contribution factor for the second quarter of 2026 (April, May, June) will be .370 or 37.0 percent.
February 27, 2026
2026 FCC Form 499-A Now in E-File
The 2026 FCC Form 499-A is now available in E-File. All service providers with a 499 Filer ID must file this annual form by April 1, 2026.