E-rate Data Clean-up E-mails Arriving

August 19, 2015

Some of you have recently received or will be receiving e-mails from USAC asking questions about certain pieces of data on your Category 1 Form 471 – even for FRNs that have previously been funded.  This outreach effort is entirely separate from your normal PIA review.  The purpose of these messages is to ask clarifying questions related to your Form 471s so the FCC can begin to compare, analyze and display pricing of eligible services information in an apples-to-apples format.  Yes, it would have been a good idea to ask more specific questions on the Form 471 itself and avoid this step, and I expect that the FY 2016 Form 471 will do just that.

The e-mails began to be sent about 2 weeks ago and should be finished by mid-September.  Applicants are requested to reply to USAC within 5 days.  The following are the two most common questions I’ve seen thus far:

1)  You indicated that your Internet Access is Stand-Alone Internet Access.  Does your Internet Access service include a circuit?  If not, is it because you requested the circuit on a different FRN, or because it’s a bundled service such as cable modem?  If yes, is it a fiber or copper circuit that’s included?

2)  You indicated that your transport type was Ethernet.  Is this broadband service being delivered via fiber or copper?

If a change is required to an application, the change will be reflected in the Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL).  If you already received your decision letter, you will receive a Revised FCDL but the will be NO IMPACT on the level of funding previously approved by USAC.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

– Julie

Julie Tritt Schell
PA E-rate Coordinator

717-730-7133 – o
717-730-9060 – f
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org

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