TIP OF THE WEEK: If you start a Form 470 using the Interview version and exit before you have submitted your form, use the "Form 470 Interview" button to return to your form. The Form 470 button marked "Continue Incomplete" only works if you are returning to a Form 470 started using the "Create Form 470" button.

Commitments for Funding Years 2008 and 2007

Funding Year 2008. USAC released FY2008 Wave 31 Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) December 10 and will release Wave 32 FCDLs December 18. Wave 32 FCDLs will include commitments for approved Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance requests at 88% and above and denials at 80% and below. As of December 12, FY2008 commitments total over $1.76 billion.

Funding Year 2007. USAC will release FY2007 Wave 72 FCDLs December 16. This wave will include commitments for approved Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance requests at 81% and above and denials at 80% and below. As of December 12, FY2007 commitments total just under $2.5 billion.

On the day the FCDLs are mailed, you can check to see if you have a commitment by using USAC’s Automated Search of Commitments tool.

Using Your RAL to Correct Errors on a Form 471

In general, applicants have three points during the application process when they can make corrections to a Form 471:

• During the filing of the application. As you complete a Form 471 online, the system will usually give you warning messages if you enter incorrect or inconsistent information and will then allow you to make corrections. If you file your form on paper, USAC can encounter many of the same warning messages during data entry of your form and may have to contact you to reach a resolution – hence the name "Problem Resolution" to describe this process. Whether you file online or on paper, you should review the information on your form to identify and correct errors before you submit the form.
• Using the RAL correction process. You can use your Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letter (RAL) to request that USAC make allowable corrections to a Form 471. We discuss this process below.
• During the review of the application. Your Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) reviewer will inform you of errors or inconsistencies identified by the online system when your application is being reviewed and allow you an opportunity to correct them. It is important to note, however, that the online system does not catch all possible errors. Although PIA will assist you where possible, it is your responsibility to identify errors and ask that they be corrected.

The RAL correction process allows you to request corrections and also maintain your own documentation that you have submitted a request for corrections. Here is how the RAL correction process works:

1. You identify one or more errors on a Form 471 that you want to correct.
2. You make a copy of your Form 471 RAL Funding Requests Report (the Report) section of the RAL, line through the incorrect information, and write the correct information to the right of the incorrect information. Note that to correct a Block 4 worksheet you must attach an additional page or pages (see below).
3. You complete the contact information requested at the top of the first page of the Report – which is always designated page 3 of the RAL – and sign the Report.
4. You remove any pages from the Report that do not have any corrections identified. (Note that your Report contains one page for each Funding Request Number on your Form 471.)
5. You make a copy of the corrected Report for your records.
6. You use the email, fax number, or mailing address in the Form 471 RAL Corrections area of the website to submit your corrected Report to USAC.
7. USAC will review your list of corrections and, if they are allowable, correct the information on your form. Note that in some cases USAC must request additional information from you in order to complete the RAL correction process.

If you have allowable corrections to report, we ask that you do so within three weeks of the date of your RAL to speed up the review process. Although you will have an opportunity to submit corrections during PIA review, the sooner the corrections are made the better.

Types of RAL corrections

Simple corrections. Simple corrections are those that can be made by simply crossing out incorrect information and writing the correct information on the same line of the Report.

If you look at your Report, you will see three columns: the item numbers and field descriptions on the left-hand side, the information you provided on your form in the center, and either a blank space or a comment on the right-hand side. To make a simple correction, draw a single line through the incorrect entry in the center column and write the correct information in the blank space in the right-hand column.

We ask that you not try to make corrections on the incorrect entry, but that you write the correct information out clearly and completely next to it. If you do this, you improve the likelihood that we will understand the correction you want to make without having to contact you for verification.

Changes to calculated values. Calculated values are form entries that you do not enter yourself online but that result from system calculations. These values are marked "Calculated - Not Input" in the right-hand column of the Report.

For example, the online system calculates Item 23k (Funding Commitment Request) by multiplying Item 23i (Total Pre-discount Amount) by Item 23j (Discount from Block 4). So, for example, if you make a correction to your Block 4 worksheet that changes your discount level, the entry in Item 23k will automatically change once that correction is made.

When you indicate a correction, you do not need to also indicate the change in the calculated value that you believe should result from the correction. However, you can write in the change to that calculated value under the words "Calculated - Not Input" as a reminder if you would like to do so.

Changes to Block 4 worksheets. In Item 22 of the Form 471, you indicate the recipient(s) of service for that funding request, either by entering an entity number (for service to a single site) or a Block 4 worksheet number (for a service shared by more than one site). If the service is shared, the Report shows the Block 4 worksheet number and not an entity number. To make changes to a worksheet, you must include one or more additional pages as part of your RAL correction with the changes clearly marked as follows:

• To delete one or more entities: Attach a separate page stating that you wish to delete the entity or entities. Include your Form 471 application number, Block 4 worksheet number, and the entity number and entity name of each entity to be deleted.
• To add one or more entities: Print a blank Form 471 Block 4 worksheet from the Form 471 on the USAC website. Complete a line for each entity you wish to add, entering all applicable information. Provide the worksheet number from an existing worksheet if the entity should be added to that worksheet or indicate that a new worksheet should be created.
• To correct the information for one or more entities: Print a copy of the Block 4 worksheet(s) that feature the entity or entities to be corrected using the Form 471 Display function on the USAC website. Make corrections to the appropriate field(s) and attach the corrected worksheet(s) to the corrected Report.

Unallowable corrections

Some corrections cannot be made through the RAL correction process. Specifically, the Billed Entity name, address, phone, and fax numbers from Block 1 of the form can only be changed by contacting the Client Service Bureau through Submit a Question, by fax at 1-888-276-8736 or by phone at 1-888-203-8100.

In some cases, USAC must review and approve your request before a correction can be made. If your proposed correction is not allowable, you will probably have to file a new form. One of the reasons that we recommend that you file forms well before the deadline is to give you a chance to file a new form before the deadline if that becomes necessary.

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