A.

Funding Commitments

We plan to continue to issue funding commitments each week for FY2005 commitments.

FY 2005
Wave 039 3/15/2006 $25.9 million
Wave 040 3/24/2006 $73.0 million
Wave 041 3/29/2006 $29.6 million
Wave 042 4/05/2006 $23.7 million
Wave 043 4/12/2006 $22.5 million

Remember that we are continuing to issue occasional waves for FY 2004. The most recent was Wave 48F on April 11 for just under $1.6 million.

B.

Forms 470 for FY2007

As of today, Forms 470 can be filed online or on paper for FY2007. Applicants may need to post these forms now because they have long procurement cycles or other specific needs.

Also, keep in mind that applicants directly affected by Hurricane Katrina have until September 4, 2006 to post Forms 470 for FY2006.

Both tools that allow access to posted Forms 470 - the Form 470 Search Posted and the Form 470 Download Reports - now feature both FY2006 and FY2007 options.

C.

First Funding Wave for FY2006

We hope to be able to issue the first funding wave for FY2006 within the next month. Here is the process we follow for a first wave or a change in discount band:

USAC performs a Funding Threshold Analysis before each wave (including a first wave). This analysis includes estimates or allowances for actions that may affect the funding amount available (for example, denials and meritorious appeals). Based on that analysis, USAC determines what services and what discount level we believe we can fund.

For the first wave of a funding year, or if the analysis changes - in other words, if we believe we can fund a lower discount than previously - USAC asks the Schools and Libraries Committee of the USAC Board for permission to fund to that level. If the Committee approves, USAC then asks the FCC for permission to fund to that level. Once the FCC issues its decision, USAC can act on that decision.

USAC has requested and received permission from the Committee to fund all approved Priority 1 requests for FY2006. USAC has made that request to the FCC and is now awaiting guidance.

D.

Internal Connections Commitments for FY2005

For FY2005 Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance, USAC asked for and received permission from the Committee to fund down to the 81% level. USAC has requested a measured dropdown in funding levels from the FCC, and is now awaiting guidance.

E.

Invoicing Update

Payments for the month of March totaled $121,631,929.39, against requests for $215M. In total, 7,291 invoices were processed for 1,411 service providers. This represented 35,154 lines in March with 94% being completed within 30 days. Only 3% of the lines paid were in process over 60 days.

There are now 151 in-process lines over 60 days and - as of Monday, April 10 - NO lines in process over 90 days except those with specific hold reasons. With only 1,941 lines in process, those over 60 days comprise only 8% of the total.

Last month we advised that the Service Provider Invoice Form 474 can be found through the "Required Forms" link under the Schools and Libraries Tools header on the left-hand side of the website. This past month we added an additional link to this form on the Service Provider page Step 9: Invoice USAC for your convenience.

USAC designed and posted a Deadlines Tool to help you calculate deadlines for Universal Service forms and actions; this Tool can be found through the Search Tools link under the Schools and Libraries Tools header on the left-hand side of the website.

USAC is progressing on the project to implement an online submission process for the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Form 472. We will keep you informed as the details for this project become available.

Other

Service providers on the last two calls have requested information on the field names and descriptions for those who receive e-notifications from USAC. These files will be posted to the website and linked to the E-notification webpage in the Service Provider area (Step 6) by the end of the week.

USAC is changing its website address from www.universalservice.org to www.usac.org. Note that there are no plans to discontinue the old URL anytime soon. Also, any addresses and URLs that contain "sl.universalservice.org" or "slforms.universalservice.org" will NOT change.

G.

General Questions Received by E-mail

I would like to know the exact date on which the SLD provided written clarification on the contract signatures and dates rule that came out of the Fifth Report and Order. I have reviewed the training materials from 2004 and there were several references to contracts and the Fifth Report and Order, but they repeat the same language that was found in the Order. I would like to know when and where the official clarification/guidance was published to indicate that in the language in the Order (contracts need to be "signed and dated by both parties") was to be interpreted to mean that contracts need to have "2 signatures and 2 dates."

On September 13, 2004, USAC posted a summary of the relevant portions of the FCC's Fifth Report and Order (FCC 04-190, released August 13, 2004) which included the following language under the document retention requirements:

Contracts. Both beneficiaries and service providers must retain executed contracts, signed and dated by both parties. All amendments and addendums to the contracts must be retained, as well as other agreements relating to E-rate between the beneficiary and service provider, such as up-front payment arrangements.

We as a service provider service multiple schools who receive eRate funding.  When we receive payments from the USAC, there is no information regarding what invoice, school, frn #, or any useful information for what this payment is paying for.  Are there any plans to add information to payments sent so the service providers can account for payments in an effective and efficient fashion?

You should review your remittance statement. If you receive a check, the remittance statement is included; if you receive electronic payments, the remittance statement comes as a separate file by e-mail. The USAC website used to have a sample remittance statement but it is no longer there; we hope to re-post it soon together with an explanation of how to read it. The information is presented line by line, and includes SPIN, FRN, service provider bill number, amount approved, USAC invoice number, line item number, and amount requested. If you submit the line items on a Service Provider Invoice (SPI) Form 474 in a way you can track, the line item information should help you fill in details.

In the eligibility list I am unable to locate where it clearly states that non-recurring charges, such as the installation costs for the following Telecommunication Services are eligible for discounts:

1. Installation charges for a T-1 connection to the internet
2. Installation charges for DSL connection to the internet
3. Installation charges for a Centrex system or POTS

Where in the eligibility list would it state this for the above mentioned services?

Go to the Searchable Interface in the Eligible Services List and type "installation" in the keyword field. The search results return an entry for Technical Services (Miscellaneous) which includes the sentence "Please see the Special Eligibility Condition below for further information about eligibility of costs for Design & Engineering, Installation, Maintenance & Technical Support, Project Management, Training, Consulting Services, and Personnel Costs." Following the link indicated leads you to the statement below:

INSTALLATION - Services tied directly to installation and initial configuration are eligible; services for planning, architecture design, and other activities not tied directly to actual installation and initial configuration are not eligible.

This Searchable Interface is very useful for researching specific questions on eligibility.