General

• On March 24, 2023, in Consumers’ Research v. FCC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a Decision (No. 22-60008) upholding the constitutionality of Congress’s delegation of administration of the Universal Service Fund (USF) to the FCC and the FCC’s subsequent reliance on Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) for support USF programs. The challengers argued that Congress failed to supply the FCC with an “intelligible principle” to guide the FCC’s administration, and that the FCC’s relationship with USAC violates the private nondelegation doctrine. On the same day, FCC Commissioner Starks issued a statement about the decision upholding the constitutionality of the FCC’s administration of the USF.
• On March 22, 2023, in an Order on Reconsideration (DA 23-248), the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) denied a Petition for Reconsideration from SES Government Solutions, which sought clarification that the universal service government-only exemption for contribution to the federal universal service mechanism applies to subcontractors of entities providing service directly and exclusively to government and public safety entities. Among other findings, the WCB stated “[t]he expansion of the exemption to include entities that do not directly contract with a government entity and merely act as subcontractors under the direction of a third party would defeat the narrow purpose of the exemption and be detrimental to the stability of the fund.”

Lifeline / Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)

• On March 27, 2023, in a Public Notice (DA 23-249), the WCB announced draft data fields to be collected under the ACP Transparency Data Collection process. The Public Notice includes 103 required or optional data fields.
• On March 15, 2023, USAC highlighted that the Michigan Attorney General sentenced an individual who defrauded the Lifeline program and who was convicted for conducting a criminal enterprise and identity theft in Michigan.
• On March 15, 2023, the FCC announced in a Public Notice (DA 23-219) $7 million in funding allocations for the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program-Pilot Program Grants. Twenty-three organizations received funding for the ACP Your Home, Your Internet program, and nine entities received funding for the ACP Navigator Pilot Program.
• On March 10, 2023, in the Fifth Report and Order (FCC 23-15), the FCC announced a second, targeted funding opportunity of up to $10 million in additional funding for the National Competitive Outreach Grant Program (NCOP) and the Tribal Competitive Outreach Grant Program (TCOP), which are components of the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program, seeking to raise awareness and promote the ACP.
• On March 10, 2023, the FCC announced in a Public Notice (DA 22-194) approximately $66 million in funding through the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program to drive awareness and enrollment in the broadband affordability program.
• On March 3, 2023, USAC released the February 2023 Lifeline Newsletter.
• The FCC previously issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 23-9) proposing rules to implement the Safe Connections Act of 2022, including through changes to the Lifeline and ACP. The NPRM requests comments on which program (Lifeline or ACP) should be designated to provide emergency communications support for survivors, how survivors can qualify, and how these programs can best serve survivors. Comments are due April 12, 2023; Reply Comments are due May 12, 2023.
• The WCB, in an Order (DA 23-84), previously extended waivers of Tribal Land Lifeline subscriber recertification and reverification requirements to April 30, 2023, extended the waiver to Tribal Land Lifeline subscribers that also participate in the ACP.

High Cost Fund Programs

• On March 31, 2023, USAC announced a Webinar (Register Here) relating to the required submission of FCC Form 481, which must be certified by July 3, 2023, collecting financial and operations information used to validate carrier support.
• On March 31, 2023, the WCB released an Order (DA 23-274) denying a request filed by Northwest Fiber, LLC d/b/a Ziply Fiber seeking to waive the Connect America Fund (CAF) performance testing support recovery requirements. The Order states, among other findings, that “[t]he Commission adopted the performance testing requirements to protect the public’s investment and ensure that carriers receiving high-cost support deploy networks that meet the performance standards promised to rural customers.”
• On March 27, 2023, in Public Notice (DA 23-259), the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) and Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) announced a request for comment on the continued filing of Alaska Plan FCC Form 477 for mobile participants of the Alaska Plan. In addition, the Public Notice provided information from the WCB for mobile recipients of the Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund and Connect USVI Fund to file their FCC Form 477 network coverage data as part of their final milestone requirement. In addition, WCB waived the data reporting requirement for the interim milestone for mobile recipients of the Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund and the Connect USVI Fund. Comments will be due 15 days after publication in the Federal Register; Reply Comments will be due 25 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Schools and Libraries (E-Rate)/Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF)

• On March 31, 2023, in the School and Libraries docket, CC Docket No. 02-6, in the ECF docket, WC Docket No. 21-93, and in the RHC Program docket, WC Docket No. 02-60, the WCB issued a Public Notice (DA 23-246) announcing the grant, dismissal, or denial of various requests (such as requests for review, requests for waivers, and petition for reconsideration) related to actions taken by the USAC.
• On March 30, 2023, the FCC announced over $2.8 million in ECF funding for schools and library to support digital services for students. These funding will support applications from three filing windows benefiting approximately 7,000 students across the country, including students in Arizona, California, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, and Missouri.
• On March 28, 2023, in a Letter to the Schools and Libraries Division of the USAC (DA 23-263), the WCB notified USAC of approval of the Schools and Libraries Funding Year 2023 Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) FCC Form 471 Review Procedures, subject to further modifications and further instructions from the FCC.
• On March 24, 2023, USAC announced that, beginning in the second quarter of 2023, E-Rate applicants using the BEAR method of reimbursement will be required to have an active SAM.gov assigned Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to submit a new FCC Form 498 or to modify their existing FCC Form 498. Additional information is available here.
• On March 15, 2023, the FCC announced over $1.7 million in ECF funding for schools and library to support digital services for students. These funding will support applications from three filing windows benefiting approximately 5,000 students across the country, including students in California, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, and New York.
• On March 13, 2023, USAC highlighted the U.S. Department of Justice announcement of the sentencing of seven defendants who pled guilty to defrauding the E-Rate program of several million dollars in technology funding for Rockland County schools in New York.
• On March 7, 2023, USAC announced the Funding Year 2023 FCC Form 471 application filing window is open. The application filing window closed Tuesday, March 28, 2023.
• On March 3, 2023, the WCB released a Public Notice (DA 23-178) announcing a 7.0% inflation-adjusted increase for the E-Rate Program cap for Funding Year 2023. The funding cap for Funding Year 2023 is $4,768,413,261.
• On March 1, 2023, the FCC announced over $20 million in ECF funding for schools and library to support digital services for students. These funding will support applications from three filing windows benefiting approximately 190,000 students across the country, including students in California, Florida, Maine, Oklahoma, Washington, and Wisconsin.
• On March 1, 2023, in a Public Notice (DA 23-166), the WCB issued a reminder to ECF Program participants regarding Program rule compliance, such as document retention requirements and the timely production of records in response to FCC and USAC staff and audit requests. As to document retention requirements, the WCB reminded participants that they must maintain equipment inventories for each connected device and service inventories, as well as documentation showing how Program participants determine that unmet need is met.
• In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 23-10), the FCC previously sought comments on ways to simply E-Rate program rules and encourage greater Tribal participation in the program, including ways to improve outreach to Tribal libraries that encounter barriers that limit access to the E-Rate program. Comments are due April 24, 2023; Reply Comments are due May 23, 2023.

Rural Health Care (RHC)

• On March 31, 2023, in the School and Libraries docket, CC Docket No. 02-6, in the ECF docket, WC Docket No. 21-93, and in the RHC Program docket, WC Docket No. 02-60, the WCB issued a Public Notice (DA 23-246) announcing the grant, dismissal, or denial of various requests (such as requests for review, requests for waivers, and petition for reconsideration) related to actions taken by the USAC.
• On March 23, 2023, in a Public Order (DA 23-254), the WCB announced Comment and Reply Comment dates on the FCC’s January 27, 2023 Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on how to strengthen the RHC Program and improve access to telehealth in rural America. Comments are due on April 24, 2023; Reply Comments are due on May 22, 2023.
• On March 20, 2023, the WCB granted, in an Order (DA 23-236), a request for waiver filed by Navajo Tribal Utility Authority Wireless, LLC for the February 25, 2022 invoice filing deadline under the RHC’s Healthcare Connect Fund Program rules.
• On March 8, 2023, in an Order (DA 23-189), the WCB announced an extension of the application window for Funding Year 2023 for the RHC Program based on disruptions to healthcare providers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new application window for Funding Year 2023 closes on May 1, 2023. The WCB also stated that it anticipates this extension will be the final RHC Program deadline extension arising from the pandemic.
• On March 7, 2023, USAC announced that for document uploads for FCC Form 463, supporting documentation for invoices and proof of payment related to the FCC Form 463 (Invoicing Form) is no longer required in RHC Connect to move forward with the submission of the FCC Form 463 but, upon selection for manual review or audit, RHC will require submission of all documents for all requested billing periods. Additional information is available here and here.
• On March 3, 2023, the WCB released a Public Notice (DA 23-178) announcing a 7.0% inflation-adjusted increase for the RHC Program cap for Funding Year 2023. The funding cap for Funding Year 2023 is $682,361,586.
• On March 2, 2023, USAC released the RHC Program News March Newsletter.

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