The Universal Service Administrative Company October 27 announced the priorities it will apply in deciding which E-rate applicants will receive notice of their approved funding commitments.
The Universal Service Administrative Company October 27 announced the priorities it will apply in deciding which E-rate applicants will receive notice of their approved funding commitments.
The Schools and Libraries Division suspended making new funding commitments in early August as USAC was required to convert to the federal government's accounting standards. USAC is now required to have funds in hand before it can make new commitments. The SLD previously announced it would resume issuing funding commitments by late November, but left unclear which applicants would receive their commitments first.
USAC outlined this framework for issuing new funding commitments:
- First priority will be given to funding commitments from earlier funding years, both commitments that are first-time commitments as well as those that are the result of meritorious appeals. About $443 million worth of funding commitments from 2003 were still pending when the SLD suspended new commitments, and smaller amounts from earlier years.
- Where there is not enough funding available to make new commitments for all the commitments in a funding year, first priority will be given to Priority 1 services over Priority 2.
- Within a Priority group, commitments will be approved based on the date that the SLD completed its review of the application. The SLD said this should encourage applicants to respond promptly to requests for information from its Program Integrity Assurance department.
USAC said it would report to the FCC on a quarterly basis where it stands in its ability to fund pending applications.
