General

• On November 30, 2022, in the School and Libraries docket, CC Docket No. 02-6, in the Emergency Connectivity Fund, WC Docket No. 21-93, in the Contribution Methodology docket, WC Docket No. 06-122, and in the Connected Care Pilot Program docket, WC Docket No. 18-213, the WCB issued a Public Notice (DA 22-1239) 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 Universal Service Administrative Company.
• On November 22, 2022, the WCB denied a petition filed by Yukon-Waltz Telephone Company requesting a waiver of section 69.605(c) of the Commission’s rules to allow it to convert from cost-based interstate settlements to average schedule based settlement in an Order (DA 22-1221). 

• On November 8, 2022, the Commission announced in a Public Notice (DA 22-1164) that the next meeting of the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture will take place on December 2, 2022, at 10:00 AM ET.  The task force will consider reports from its four working groups during the meeting relating to:  (1) Mapping and Analyzing Connectivity on Agricultural Lands; (2) Accelerating Broadband Deployment on Unserved Agricultural Lands; (3) Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand for Precision Agriculture; and (4) Encouraging Adoption of Precision Agriculture and Availability of High-Quality Jobs on Connected Farms. 

• On October 28, 2022, the Commission issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (DA 22-79) seeking comment on proposals to ensure that mobile carriers continue to implement advanced telecommunications services and that fixed providers have sufficient resiliency and redundancy during the transition periods of the Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund and the Connect USVI Fund.  Comments are due on or before December 9, 2022, and Reply Comments are due on or before December 27, 2022.

Lifeline / Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)

• On November 23, 2022, the Commission released a Fourth Report and Order and FNPRM (FCC 22-87) establishing the procedures and rules for ACP Transparency Data Collection.  The Report and Order provides information on the information the Commission will collect relating to the ACP, including concerning price, subscription rates, and plan characteristics of the internet service offerings of ACP participating providers.  The Order delegates to the WCB the authority to establish the initial collection due date, also seeks comment on revising the ACP Transparency Data Collection to verify the accuracy of the submitted data, and on collecting additional information, including subscriber-level data and data on subscriber interactions with provider representatives.   

• On November 18, 2022, the WCB announced in a Public Notice (DA 22-1213) that the Your Home, Your Internet and Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Navigator Pilot Programs application filing window will open November 21, 2022, at 10:00 AM ET and will close on January 9, 2023, at 9:00 PM ET.  The Public Notice also provided additional information about the content and process for submitting an application. 

• The WCB previously released an Order (DA 22-1039) extending the waiver of Lifeline recertification and reverification requirements for Lifeline subscribers residing on Tribal lands to January 31, 2022 and expanding the waiver to include ACP participants.

High Cost Fund Programs

• On November 17, 2022, the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) authorized Connect America Fund Phase II (Auction 903) support for one winning bid in a Public Notice (DA 22-1213). 

• On November 10, 2022, the WCB issued in conjunction with the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), authorizes Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (Auction 904) support for approximately 500 winning bids in a Public Notice (DA 22-1181).

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

• On November 30, 2022, in the School and Libraries docket, CC Docket No. 02-6, in the Emergency Connectivity Fund, WC Docket No. 21-93, in the Contribution Methodology docket, WC Docket No. 06-122, and in the Connected Care Pilot Program docket, WC Docket No. 18-213, the WCB issued a Public Notice (DA 22-1239) 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 Universal Service Administrative Company. 

• On November 16, 2022, USAC updated the FCC Form 498 for all service providers. The update requires entities to have an active SAM.gov assigned Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in order to submit a new, or modify an existing, FCC Form 498.  Additional information is available at September 15, 2022 E-Rate News Brief.

Rural Health Care (RHC)

• On December 1, 2022, the FY2023 filing window opened for the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program.  Applicants can now submit the FCC Form 462 in RHC Connect and Telecommunications (Telecom) Program applicants can now submit the FCC Form 466 in My Portal. The filing window closes on April 3, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET. 

• On November 30, 2022, in the School and Libraries docket, CC Docket No. 02-6, in the Emergency Connectivity Fund, WC Docket No. 21-93, in the Contribution Methodology docket, WC Docket No. 06-122, and in the Connected Care Pilot Program docket, WC Docket No. 18-213, the WCB issued a Public Notice (DA 22-1239) 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 Universal Service Administrative Company.   

• The WCB previously issued a Public Notice (DA 22-560) that summarizes upcoming Connected Care Pilot Program deadlines, and waives and extends the end date of the Pilot Program to conduct a full three year Pilot project.  December 31, 2025 is the last date for Pilot Program participants to end their project. 

• The OMB and WCB previously established via Public Notice (DA 22-582) that the Round 2 COVID-19 Telehealth Program funding recipients with additional information for the post-program report is due on January 31, 2024.