A.

Funding Commitments for FY2006 and FY2005
 
FY 2006 – Priority 1 commitments only

Wave 013 07/18/2006 $22.9 million
Wave 014 07/25/2006 $18.2 million
Wave 015 08/01/2006 $42.5 million
Wave 016 08/08/2006 $17.0 million

FY 2005

No waves since the last call.  We are planning to run a wave this week, which would mean that FCDLs would go out next week. Priority 2 funding commitments are still being issued at 84% and above.

USAC occasionally runs waves for prior funding years. Since the last call, USAC has issued Wave 48H for FY2004 and Wave 15Y for FY2001.

B.

Update on Bishop Perry Order

USAC has moved over 300 applications that were “Certified Out-of-Window” to “Certified – In Window” status following the FCC’s direction in the Bishop Perry Order (FCC 06-54). USAC will mail Receipt Acknowledgment Letters (RALs) to these applicants today. The associated service provider RALs and electronic notifications were issued on August 4.

The Client Service Bureau (CSB) will start calling applicants this week who submitted a Form 471 for FY2006 online before the window closed but did not certify the form. These applicants will have an opportunity to submit a certification.

Also, CSB will start calling applicants this week who submitted a paper Form 471 for FY2006 before the close of the window but the form failed Minimum Processing Standards. These applicants will have an opportunity to correct their errors and resubmit their forms.

C.

2006 Schools and Libraries Training Update

We have been able to admit everyone on the waiting lists for the fall training except in DC. If you are still waiting for the DC training and are not interested in attending any of the other trainings, please make sure your contact information is up to date by following the directions on the 2006 Training Information webpage.

D.

Summer Contact Procedures in Effect Through September 8

Reminder: If a PIA reviewer is unable to make a successful two-way contact with an applicant during the summer, the application review will be put on hold until after Labor Day.

If the status of a Form 471 is “Held for Contact Person” in the Form 471 Application Status tool, an applicant that is available to answer questions about the application can click on that link and provide contact information to PIA via email so that review of the application can proceed.

E.

Service Provider Calls for September and October

USAC staff will be conducting training in the field during September and October and will be on the road during the scheduled call dates. It may be easier to move one or both calls an hour earlier or later or change the date to the next day (Thursday); we will give notice on the agenda if the time and/or date of a call changes.

Invoicing Update

Payments for the month of July totaled $124,523,893.54 against requests for $162.3M. In total, 6,708 invoices were processed for 1,388 service providers. This represented 26,747 lines in July with 99% being completed within 30 days. Only 0.03% of the lines paid — 8 lines out of 26,747 — were in process over 90 days.

With only 716 lines in process, those over 30 days comprise only 0.28% of the total.

SPAC Reminder

Service providers providing services under E-rate for FY2006 must file a Service Provider Annual Certification (SPAC) for FY2006. USAC cannot pay invoices for a funding year unless a SPAC is on file for that year. You can use the SPIN Contact Search tool to verify that your form has been successfully processed.

BEAR Update

USAC may be able to begin testing the online BEAR Form next week. In the next few days, we will be sending details for accessing the system to those who volunteered to help us do testing.

Remember ,service providers will need to have an E-Cert status that is active in order to properly review and certify BEARs when the online BEAR system becomes available. The E-Cert information is part of the Online Form 498 processing and it is strongly recommended that service providers review the information in the E-file User Guide on the website.
 
Also, please make sure that your email address is up to date on the Form 498. Email is an essential part of the notification process as all notifications between the applicant, system and service provider are exchanged by email.

A new PIN will be issued to applicants who have filed a BEAR in the last two years and who do not already have a PIN.

Other

Comments on the FY2007 Eligible Services List were due to the FCC by August 4. Reply comments are due by August 14. If you are interested in submitting comments, please keep these deadlines in mind.

Please note that the Invoice Hotline has been disconnected. CSB can now answer questions about invoices.

The payment program for returning funds disbursed in error has a new phone number: 973-581-5395. This number is ONLY for setting up a payment plan.

General Questions Received by E-mail

1. It is increasingly clear that many service providers, both wire line and wireless, are going well beyond the limitations of the FCC’s Eligible Service List definition of the "Internet Access" category of service by providing Wide Area Networks (WANs) that deliver services well beyond just plain old Internet Access. The FCC’s Eligible Service List indicates that the Internet Access category of service is “limited to the provision of ‘BASIC CONDIUT ACCESS’ to the Internet”. It further indicates that E-Rate funding under the category of “Internet Access” will not be provided for the “transport of point-to-point connectivity of data, video, or voice applications”. Those telecommunication services are to be provided only by eligible telecommunications carriers. If a Wide Area Network is provided by a non-eligible telecommunications carrier and that WAN is utilized to transport any other telecommunication service other than straight Internet Access Service, than the ineligible components (i.e. data, video, or voice applications) must be cost-allocated out of the funding request.

What is being done to strictly enforce cost allocations for non-telecommunications providers that provide more than basic conduit access to the Internet?

There are several steps in the application and invoice review process where USAC could catch errors like this and take appropriate action. In the application review process itself, PIA asks questions about the types of services requested and reviews the accompanying documentation to arrive at a funding decision. Services that are not eligible could be removed from the funding request (if less than 30%) or the funding request could be denied (if 30% or more). PIA performs initial and final reviews of applications, and often performs other reviews as well.

Once a funding request is approved, invoicing still reviews the services being invoiced before payment is made. Again, ineligible services can be identified during this review as well and appropriate action taken.

Site visit sites are determined by random selection of a sample of invoices from the total of invoices recently approved for payment. The site reviewers report any differences they see between the approved funding request and the services actually being used.

Audits may also uncover information on differences as well.

Remember, however, that the information provided during the application process may not define the exact nature of all services provided. If a funding request passes both application and invoice review and the applicant does not receive a site visit or an audit, USAC may not know that ineligible services are being funded.

Applicants who become aware of ineligible services can reduce their commitment amount using a Form 500 and, if the funds have already been disbursed, return the funds to USAC. Applicants and service providers who become aware that others have received commitments for ineligible services can call the Whistleblower Hotline so that USAC can investigate and take appropriate action.

2. With the BEAR E-certification approaching, I assume that ALL such notifications will go to the "official" contact. Currently, we have established a team of regional individuals who handle the processing and signing of BEAR forms. This is because of the time involved in handling these forms. How can I retain my team approach if all notifications are directed to me, as the contact, when I do not have the time to properly research these BEARS? If these can be forwarded or directed to my team members, does each one need to be e-certified or can they share my certification?  What level of authorization do the BEARs require, automatic, carte blance approval as opposed to at least some discretionary research?

All notifications will go to the contact featured on the Form 498. To handle teams of staff members, you could work with your IT helpdesk staff to forward messages based on content.  Also, a service provider logging into the system will have access to the entire list of BEARs awaiting certification under that SPIN.

Each staff member should have an eCert PIN so that proper authentication and subsequent certifications may be attributed to the correct individual.

Remember that BEAR Forms should only contain reimbursement requests for services which applicants have already paid for in full.