Federal Communications Commission	DA 21-1182


DA 21-1182
Released:  September 21, 2021

WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU DIRECTS USAC TO REVIEW AND PROCESS LATE-FILED EMERGENCY CONNECTIVITY FUND PROGRAM APPLICATIONS DURING SECOND APPLICATION FILING WINDOW
WC Docket No. 21-93

By this Public Notice, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) directs the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to review and process Emergency Connectivity Fund Program (Program) applications filed after the close of the Program’s initial application filing window with those filed in the second application filing window in accordance with Program rules and requirements. News Release, FCC, FCC Announces Over $5 Billion in Funding Requests Received in Emergency Connectivity Fund Program (Aug. 25, 2021), https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-announces-over-5-billion-emergency-connectivity-fund-requests (Second Application Window News Release).  
  
In view of outstanding demand at the conclusion of the initial application filing window, including applications that were filed after the close of the window, and the recent spike in COVID-19 cases across the country, the Commission determined to open a second application filing window from September 28, 2021 to October 13, 2021. See id.
  During the second application filing window, as in the initial application filing window, eligible schools and libraries can request funding for eligible equipment and services for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons with unmet needs during the current 2021-22 school year (i.e., July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022).  
While many schools and libraries timely submitted their applications during the initial application filing window, a number of applicants certified and submitted their ECF FCC Forms 471 after the August 13 deadline.  We therefore direct USAC to review and process these late-filed applications during the second application filing window in accordance with Program rules and requirements. See id. (explaining that late-filed ECF funding applications will be included as part of the second application filing window that will open on September 28, 2021).
  Applicants that certified and submitted their ECF FCC Forms 471 after the close of the initial application filing window on August 13, 2021 will not be required to resubmit their applications during the second application filing window, nor will they need to file a request for waiver of the initial 45-day application filing deadline with the Commission.  We expect all applicants will now have sufficient time to file their applications by the second application filing window deadline on October 13, 2021.  As such, we do not expect to grant waivers of the Program’s second application filing deadline of October 13, 2021 absent a showing of extraordinary circumstances.
For more information, please contact Molly O’Conor, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau at (202) 418-0578 or at Molly.OConor@fcc.gov.


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