On October 28, 2019, the USAC Schools & Libraries Committee held its quarterly board meeting. During the meeting, the SLD proposed that the Board approve the opening of the FY2020 Form 471 filing window no earlier than January 2020 and closing no earlier than March 2020 subject to requirements of Section 54.502 of the FCC’s rules. Other highlights from the meeting include:
- The Board approved the first quarter 2020 total program budget of $20.49 million. This includes $4.8M in direct program costs for professional services from USAC contractor Maximus.
- USAC reported that 95% of FY2019 applications were processed as of September 1, and expressed a goal of 100% for FY2020. USAC reported that of the 1,034 FY2019 fiber applications, 921 have been committed for a total of $122.4 million, and 113 fiber applications remain pending with $216 million requested funding.
- USAC discussed a backlog in post-commitment processing activity, as their September focus was on Form 471 processing. They indicated that they are now prioritizing post-commitment processing, with appeals, COMADs, and invoicing having the highest backlog. As of September, USAC had 110 appeals pending, shy of their target of 90.
- An Information Technology update was provided on the multi-factor authentication and “one portal” roll out currently scheduled for December for service providers. The current plan is to delay the roll out for applicants until after the close of the 2020 filing window to avoid any unnecessary challenges for applicants while submitting applications.
- USAC submits an E-rate Broadband Report to the FCC each year. FY2019 is scheduled to be submitted to the FCC at the end of February 2020. The FCC has not made the FY2018 report submitted earlier this year publicly available.
