On August 14, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission issued an Order granting an “automatic, one-time extension” of the invoice deadline to October 30, 2023 for any Emergency Connectivity Fund funding request with an invoice deadline prior to that date. Noting that “some program participants may have difficulty timely submitting invoices by their current invoice filing deadlines that fall before October 30, 2023 despite every attempt to comply with the program’s rules,” the Commission found “compelling and unique circumstances that merit a waiver.”
In the Order, the FCC also changed the invoice deadline requirements to add “notification by the Administrator of a processed returned funds (or refund) request” to the list of dates that start the 60 day invoice deadline clock. The Commission noted that “at times, ECF funds must be returned (e.g., to correct entity information) and USAC must process the refund request first, before the party is able to submit a corrected invoice for a funding request.”
The FCC Order may be viewed here.
