A.

Funding Commitments for FY2007

We are still making Priority 2 commitments at the 83% discount level and above and denying at 79% and below. We do not know when we will be able to make decisions on 80%, 81%, or 82%. Here is a list of the FY2007 commitments since the last call:

B.

FY2008 Demand Estimate

For FY2008, applicants submitted just over $4.3 billion in funding requests: about $1.95 billion in Priority 1 and about $2.35 billion in Priority 2. The FY2008 Demand Estimate is now available on the USAC website.

C.

RAL Corrections for FY2008 Applications

This is now the second year that, because of the Bishop Perry Order, applicants can correct many errors on their applications after submission. One of the most significant changes is that they can increase the amount of a funding request if the submitted amount is incorrect.

Although service providers cannot request corrections to Forms 471, they receive copies of RALs and can review them for errors. If you find an error on a RAL, it would be a good idea to notify your customer so that a correction can be submitted.

D.

Update on Service Provider Training

We are planning to hold two one-day service provider training sessions in early May 2008. The current plan is to hold one in Miami and one in Salt Lake City. We are working on hotel contracts and should have information on registration before the end of the month.

There will be an informational session on the Rural Health Care Pilot Program at the conclusion of the Miami training session. If you would like to attend this informational session, pay close attention to the Schools and Libraries service provider training announcement.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Rural Health Care IS NOT offering a separate service provider training session on the RHC Pilot Program. Information for service providers will be available shortly on the USAC website, and there will also be a monthly conference call that service providers can join. In the meantime, if you have questions about the RHC Pilot Program, you can send an email to rhcpilot@usac.org.

E.

Invoicing Update

Payments for the month of February totaled $98,797,875.97 against requests for $138.7 M. In total, 6,689 invoices were processed for 1,394 service providers. This represented 29,719 lines in February with 98% being completed within 30 days.

There are 805 lines in process as of March 5.

Deadline Extensions

We have completed 1,470 deadline extension requests in the last two months. We are working diligently to get decisions out on the 300 or so requests remaining. We have also expedited the process by sending our decisions to the requestors via email.

Other

Service providers who use the E-File System to log in and communicate electronically with USAC must accept the Terms and Conditions of use. Because USAC has recently revised these Terms and Conditions, service providers must accept the revised Terms and Conditions the next time they log into the E-File System.

For more information, refer to the February 22, 2008 SL News Brief.

General Questions Received by E-mail

No questions received.