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. At the July USAC Schools and Libraries Committee Meeting, the SLD told the Board they were on track to meet that target in FY 2019. While overall funding commitment decisions have come quicker over the last few years, it appears unlikely that USAC will fully meet the FCC’s stated goal.
Here is a summary of pending FY2019 applications as of August 23, 2019. In total, $2.93 billion was requested in FY2019 and $1.27 billion is still pending:
- Pending by service category:
- Internet Access: $712 million
- Internal Connections: $531 million
- Managed Broadband: $13 million
- Basic Maintenance: $21 million
- Pending by applicant type:
- District: $850 million
- Library: $16 million
- School: $29 million
- Consortium: $381 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.
