July 21, 2016, marked the final deadline for funding year 2016 E-rate funding applications. Although USAC will soon submit a final demand estimate to the FCC, the decision has already been made to fund all valid funding requests for FY2016.
The close of the 2016 filing window comes after the original deadline was extended last April because of difficulties encountered with USAC’s electronic filing system (EPC). It was necessary for libraries and consortia to be given extra time due to an unforeseen consequence in EPC’s design: libraries and consortia are required to wait for other applicants to submit their requests before they can submit their own. The filing period started February 3, 2016, and was open for a record 169 days.
