On February 8, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission issued an Order on Reconsideration waiving the USAC appeal deadline for three E-rate applicants. Stating that the applicants had “mistakenly filed” by filing their requests directly with the FCC instead of first appealing to USAC, the Commission denied the initial appeals. However, the FCC “issued its decisions dismissing the petitioners’ requests after the 60-day appeal filing deadline had passed,” not giving the applicants enough time to properly appeal to USAC.
The FCC notes in the decision that “in certain circumstances, the Bureau may also waive the 60-day appeal filing deadline to allow a party to refile its appeal at USAC after their appeal is dismissed by the Bureau.” The decision may be viewed here.
