A.

Funding Commitments for FY2007

We are still making Priority 2 commitments at the 83% discount level and above. Here is a list of the FY2007 commitments since the last call:

Wave     FCDL Date      Amount

024      10/17/2007     $49.8 M
025      10/23/2007     $32.6 M
026      10/30/2007     $38.6 M
027      11/6/2007      $21.3 M
028      11/13/2007     $40.3 M

You can find information on commitments by using the Automated Search of Commitments tool on the USAC website.

B.

FY2008 Window Opening and Form 470 Download Tool

The FY2008 application filing window opened on November 7. You can use the Form 470 Search Posted tool or the Form 470 Download Reports tool to review posted Forms 470. If you have any technical difficulties using these tools, please notify the Client Service Bureau at 1-888-203-8100 as soon as possible.

C.

FY2008 Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letters

The first Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letters (RALs) for FY2008 will be mailed November 15. Applicants can make corrections to many of the items on a Form 471 using the RAL correction process. If you notice errors on your RALs, be sure to inform the affected applicants so that they can submit corrections.

D.

Service Provider Training (Spring 2008)

We are planning to hold two service provider training sessions in April 2008 – one in the East and one in the West. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for locations, subjects to cover, etc.

E.

Invoicing Update

Payments for the month of October totaled $244,626,879.67 against requests for $301.6 M. In total, 15,979 invoices were processed for 1,998 service providers. This represented 52,086 line items in October with 97% being completed within 30 days.

There are 1,421 lines in process as of November 1.

Invoice Deadline Extension Requests

If you file an invoice deadline extension request, be sure to include a short description of the reason for the delay in submitting your invoice. For example, “reasons outside service provider’s control” is not sufficient.

If you do not describe the reason for the delay, invoicing may DISMISS the request for an extension. You can then submit a revised request that includes additional information.

You should submit these requests promptly. In general, if a request is submitted more than 120 days after the last day to invoice, we will scrutinize that request much more carefully.

Other

On the October 10 call, several participants remarked that they were no longer receiving the call agendas by email. As it turns out, there is not a problem with USAC’s email system; each non-recipient had a different problem.

If you are not receiving the call agenda by email, try the following:

• Go to the Subscribe webpage and try to subscribe. If you are successful, you probably had an autoforward on an old email address that expired.
• If the system returns the message that you are already subscribed, unsubscribe your email address (use the link at the bottom of the page) and then subscribe again. If USAC’s system sends an agenda by email and either your mailbox is full or your system returns an “undeliverable” message, the system identifies your email as inactive. Re-subscribing fixes that problem.
• If you still don’t receive an agenda, find out if your spam filter blocked USAC’s email message. You can also add the sender (Service Provider Call or donotreply@lists.universalservice.org) to your safe senders list.

General Questions Received by Email

1. When will the conference call minutes (on the SLD site) be updated? The last update was from the March 2007 call.
   
   

John Noran will work to get those current.

2. A service provider requires an applicant to complete a "service order form" before beginning an e-rate eligible service. This form asks the applicant to confirm the installation date (and perhaps the type of service). Only the applicant is required to sign this form. The service provider requires only this document to begin service. There are no other documents involved in ordering the service. Should the applicant list this service as a "month-to-month" service or a "contracted" service on the 471 form?
   
   

If the document is just an informational document and is not considered a contract under state contract law, the service can be listed as “month-to-month.” However, if the document looks like a contract and it is submitted to PIA as an Item 21 Attachment or as part of a review process, PIA may have questions about its function. Also, remember that applicants who designate services as “month-to-month” must file a new Form 470 and open a new competitive bidding process every year.

3. We have not been receiving automated emails telling us that we have BEAR forms to certify online. When I called the SLD this morning they said that there are no automatic emails. Only after certifiying a BEAR form will we receive an email. Is this correct? It is different than what we were told at the USAC training.
   
   

We have found that the FIRST email to the service provider may not get through, but subsequent emails do. We are continuing to work on this problem.

We continue to suggest that service providers log in to the E-file System once a week and review any BEAR Forms that are pending. You do not have to wait for USAC to send you an email.

4. How can a service provider cancel a BEAR form that has the wrong amount on it? We have one that has been online for over a month and communicated to the applicant that the amount was wrong. However, it is still in the system to be certified. How can we get this removed from the system?
   
   

If the service provider views a BEAR Form online and does NOT want to approve any lines (in other words, does NOT put a check in the check box to the right of any lines), the service provider will in effect reject the entire form by completing the remainder of the form and submitting it.

5. The deadline for FY2006 BEARs and most FY2007 486s passed on October 29. Weren't the applicants supposed to get reminder letters about the deadline? With the letters, weren't they given a 20 day "grace" period? Our company called hundreds of applicants to remind them and no one had received a letter or reminder e-mail. Also, in your 10-26 News Brief (which are GREAT), you mentioned "If you miss the deadline, you will have to take additional steps to successfully file these forms"; what steps do you recommend? File an Invoice Deadline Extension on the "Submit a Question" and attach your BEAR? Or wait until you get an approval and then file BEAR? If the applicant filed the extension after October 29, will it be approved? Thanks.
   
   

USAC issues a Form 486 Urgent Reminder Letter after an applicant has MISSED the 120-day deadline for filing a Form 486, based on the FCDL date and the service start date reported on the Form 471. The applicant has 20 days from the date on that letter to postmark a Form 486 or file and certify it online without penalty (if in fact the service start date is still the date indicated on the Form 471).

There is no BEAR Form Urgent Reminder Letter. However, if an applicant filed a BEAR Form online that was in a pending status as of October 29, 2007, the service provider can still (for a limited time) log in and approve the form. If not, the applicant must request and be approved for an invoice deadline extension request before filing a BEAR Form for FY2006 recurring services.

6. When does an applicant have to have a service provider signature before filing a 471? I read the wording below to indicate that a vendor signature is never needed before filing the 471. We are specifically concerned about our state telecommunications contract "CalNet 2 which need a state and a vendor signature in addition to the applicant signature" If all of these signatures are required, can they be obtained before the certification but after the submittal as the wording below seems to indicate. The wording "in place" needs to be clarified if I am incorrect. Except for services to be delivered under non-contracted tariffed or month-to-month arrangements, FCC rules require that an applicant sign a contract with the service provider before signing and submitting a completed (certified) Services Ordered and Certification Form (Form 471). Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they had a signed and dated contract in place at the time they certified the Form 471. The service provider signature and date is not a program requirement. Applicants must also comply with state and/or local contract law.
   
   

If services are provided under a contract, the contract must:

• Contain an applicant signature and a date to meet FCC requirements
• Meet all state and local requirements that are necessary for the contract to be considered a contract under the state’s contract law (which could include a service provider signature or other requirements)
• Meet all of the above requirements before the Form 471 is submitted, which must occur before the filing window closes to be considered as within the window.

The grace period for certifying a Form 471 submitted online but not certified before the filing window closes has no effect on contract requirements.