In the Federal Communications Commission’s Seventh Report and Order, the Commission established an application processing goal for “workable” Form 471 applications, indicating that a funding commitment should be issued by September 1 of the Funding Year.
As of July 31, 2021, 94% of applicants have received a funding commitment and 57% of the funds requested have been committed, a fifteen percent increase compared to FY2020. In Addition, 40% of the requested funds have a pending status while 3% of funds requested have been denied.
Here is a summary of pending FY2021 requests by service category as of July 31, 2021. In total, $3.05 billion was requested in FY2021 and $1.23 billion is still pending:
- Pending by service category:
- Internet Access: $559 million
- Internal Connections: $632 million
- Managed Broadband: $18 million
- Basic Maintenance: $18 million
- Pending by applicant type:
- District: $890 million
- Library: $20 million
- School: $35 million
- Consortium: $281 million
Applicants with pending Form 471 applications are encouraged to respond to Program Integrity Assurance review inquiries quickly to minimize application processing time and should plan on checking the status of their pending applications if no Funding Commitment Decision Letter is issued prior to September 1.
