Federal Communications Commission	DA 20-844


DA 20-844
Released:  August 6, 2020

WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU ANNOUNCES APPLICATION WINDOW FOR STAGE 2 OF THE UNIENDO A PUERTO RICO FUND AND THE CONNECT USVI FUND
WC Docket Nos. 18-143, 10-90

	By this Public Notice, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announces that the application window for the Stage 2 competitive process of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund will open on Thursday, August 6, 2020 and close on Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 6:00 PM ET.  
	In the PR-USVI Stage 2 Order,  The Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund, Order, WC Dockets Nos. 18-143 et al., 34 FCC Rcd 9109 (Sept. 30, 2019) available at https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-invests-950-million-improve-broadband-puerto-rico-usvi-0 (PR-USVI Stage 2 Order).
 the Commission allocated budgets of $504.7 million in Stage 2 fixed support to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and $186.5 million in Stage 2 fixed support to the U.S. Virgin Islands over a 10-year period.  The Stage 2 competitive proposal process will award support based on the weighting of three criteria: (1) price per location; (2) network performance, including speed, latency, and usage allowance; and (3) network resilience and redundancy.  An applicant must timely and properly file the FCC Form 5634 application form and all required materials to be considered a participant in the Stage 2 competitive process for support in the Territories. Included as attachments to this Public Notice are the FCC Form 5634 application form for the Stage 2 competitive process, FCC Form 5634 application instructions, and the FCC Form 5634 Schedule B Microsoft Excel Template.
  An application to participate in the Stage 2 competitive process will provide to the Bureau information used to determine whether the applicant has the legal, technical, and financial qualifications to participate in a Commission competition for universal service support. 47 CFR §§ 1.21001, 54.1501-1515.
 
Additional Information. The Bureau encourages all potential applicants to review all applicable program requirements and procedures as set forth in the Commission’s PR-USVI Stage 2 Order and the Bureau’s subsequent Public Notices, including the application filing procedures released on February 5, 2020, Uniendo A Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI Fund Notice and Filing Requirements and Other Procedures for Stage 2 Fixed Competitive Proposal Process, Public Notice, WC Dockets Nos. 18-143 et al., 35 FCC Rcd 218 (Feb. 5, 2020) available at https://www.fcc.gov/document/uniendo-puerto-rico-fund-and-connect-usvi-fund-procedures-pn. 
 for compliance with the program’s requirements.  In addition, the Bureau has made available information on the Uniendo a Puerto Rico and Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 webpage to assist interested parties in preparing and submitting timely and properly filed applications: https://www.fcc.gov/uniendo-puerto-rico-and-connect-usvi-fund-stage-2. 
For additional information, contact Dangkhoa Nguyen (Dangkhoa.Nguyen@fcc.gov) and/or Christian Hoefly (Christian.Hoefly@fcc.gov) of the Wireline Competition Bureau, Telecommunications Access Policy Division.
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