The Universal Service Administrative Company submitted their demand estimate to the Federal Communications Commission reporting that the estimate for the FY 2009 is $3.99 billion. This is a decrease of approximately $322 million from FY 2008. USAC’s analysis is based on all the applications that were filed within the Form 471 filing window.
In a letter to the FCC, SLD Vice President Mel Blackwell reports that:
- Priority One funding is currently estimated at $2.04 billion, which is an increase of 4.3%.
- Priority Two funding is currently estimated at $1.94 billion which is a decrease of 17.4%.
- Estimated Demand for 90%: $808 million which is a decrease of $24.2%
While the total amount requested for Priority Two services has decreased, it is still too early to give any estimation of where the Priority Two discount rate threshold will be for Funding Year 2009. The estimates reported by the SLD include all funding requests that were filed within the Form 471 Filing Window that are certified or may still be certified. The actual amount of funding requested will be adjusted as applications are reviewed for program compliance and cancelled or reduced by applicants.
The following is a report by Funds For Learning of the amount of funding requested at each discount percentage in each funding category. This report is based on information within the SLD’s Data Retrieval Tool, and varies slightly to USAC’s demand estimate.
FFL Report of FY 2009 Requests at Each Discount Percentage
