[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70983-70985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26921]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[WC Docket No. 21-93; DA 21-1499; FR ID 61508]


Establishing Emergency Connectivity Fund To Close the Homework 
Gap

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (the Bureau) 
grants a petition for an expedited waiver of the Emergency Connectivity 
Fund (ECF) Program's invoice filing deadline submitted by the State E-
rate Coordinators' Alliance (SECA) and clarifies the service delivery 
date for certain funding requests.

DATES: Effective December 14, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, please 
contact Gabriela Gross, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, 
Wireline Competition Bureau, at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order 
in WC Docket No. 21-93; DA 21-1499, adopted and released on December 2, 
2021. The full text of this document is available for public inspection 
on the Commission's website at https://www.fcc.gov/document/wcb-waives-ecf-invoice-deadline-and-clarifies-service-delivery-date.

Synopsis

I. Introduction

    1. In the Order, the Bureau grants a petition for an expedited 
waiver of the ECF Program's invoice filing deadline submitted by SECA. 
Specifically, and subject to the limitations stated in the Order, the 
Bureau waives Sec. Sec.  54.1711(d) and (e) of the Commission's rules 
to provide relief to applicants that: (a) Applied for ECF funding 
during the first or second application filing windows; (b) incorrectly 
used June 30, 2022 as the service delivery date on their ECF FCC Form 
471 applications for equipment and/or other non-recurring services, 
rather than the actual service delivery date; and (c) received a 
funding commitment decision letter (FCDL) or revised funding commitment 
decision letter (RFCDL) noting August 29, 2022 as the invoice filing 
deadline based on the incorrect service delivery date (Affected Program 
Participants).
    2. Accordingly, the Bureau directs the Universal Service 
Administrative Company (USAC), the Administrator of the ECF Program, to 
continue to use the August 29, 2022 invoice filing deadline noted on 
the Affected Program Participants' FCDLs and RFCDLs and allow them to 
submit their requests for reimbursement on or before this date. To the 
extent other applicants incorrectly used June 30, 2022 as the service 
delivery date for equipment and/or non-recurring services, rather than 
the actual delivery date, but have not yet received an FCDL or RFCDL 
with an invoice filing deadline, the Bureau directs USAC to use June 
30, 2022 as the service delivery date for these requests. The Bureau 
also extends this relief to service providers that agreed to file 
requests for reimbursement on behalf of

[[Page 70984]]

these applicants. Going forward, to avoid confusion and for 
administrative ease, the Bureau clarifies that the service delivery 
date for all requests for equipment, other non-recurring services, and 
recurring services submitted in any filing window covering funding for 
purchases made between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 is June 30, 2022 
(i.e., the last date of the funding period) and modifies this 
procedural rule accordingly.

II. Discussion

    3. Generally, the Commission's rules may be waived for good cause 
shown. The Commission may exercise its discretion to waive a rule where 
the particular facts make strict compliance inconsistent with the 
public interest. In addition, the Commission may take into account 
considerations of hardship, equity, or more effective implementation of 
overall policy on an individual basis.
    4. Given the confusion around the appropriate service delivery date 
to use for equipment and other non-recurring services, and the reliance 
on an incorrect invoice filing deadline as a result, the Bureau finds 
that granting a limited waiver of the invoice filing deadline for the 
Affected Program Participants is appropriate and allows them to submit 
their requests for reimbursement by August 29, 2022. Although the 
Bureau's Public Notice, 86 FR 41408, August 2, 2021, established June 
30, 2022 as the service delivery date for equipment and other non-
recurring services if the equipment or services had not yet been 
ordered or received at the time of the applicant's funding request 
submission, some applicants mistakenly used this date as the service 
delivery date despite having already received the equipment and/or 
services at the time of their filing, resulting in USAC's issuance of 
FCDLs and RFCDLs with an incorrect invoice filing deadline of August 
29, 2022 (i.e., 60 days after June 30, 2022), rather than an earlier 
filing deadline based on their actual service delivery date. As a 
result, these applicants may not know that their requests for 
reimbursement are in fact due before August 29, 2022, and their 
requests for reimbursement will be denied as untimely without the 
Bureau's action.
    5. Moreover, a waiver of the invoice filing deadline will not lead 
to any undue advantage in funding as the Affected Program Participants 
will not receive more funding than that allowed under the ECF Program 
rules, and the equipment and services have already been delivered. In 
addition, the Bureau finds that the public interest would not be served 
were these Affected Program Participants to lose ECF funding for 
equipment and services needed to connect students, school staff, and 
library patrons during this unprecedented time.
    6. The Bureau therefore directs USAC to continue to use the August 
29, 2022 invoice filing deadline noted on the FCDLs and RFCDLs and 
allow the Affected Program Participants to submit their requests for 
reimbursement on or before this date. To the extent other applicants 
incorrectly used June 30, 2022 as the service delivery date for 
equipment and/or other non-recurring services despite having already 
received them at the time of their application filing, but have not yet 
received an FCDL or RFCDL, the Bureau directs USAC to use June 30, 2022 
as the service delivery date for these requests. The Bureau also 
extends this relief to service providers that agreed to file requests 
for reimbursement on behalf of these applicants.
    7. To avoid confusion and minimize administrative burdens, for the 
first two application filing windows and any subsequent window the 
Commission may open for eligible purchases made between the same period 
(i.e., July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022), the Bureau allows 
applicants to use June 30, 2022 (i.e., the last date of the funding 
period) as the service delivery date for all funding requests for 
equipment, other non-recurring services, and recurring services 
submitted during these windows. The Bureau takes this action solely for 
purposes of establishing an invoice filing deadline for these funding 
requests and streamlining the process for program participants. The 
Bureau modifies Sec.  54.1711(e) accordingly as reflected in the 
following. The Bureau makes these changes without notice and comment in 
accordance with the exception to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) 
for procedural rules. The updated rule will become effective upon 
publication of the Order in the Federal Register.
    8. In granting the requested relief, the Bureau emphasizes that the 
Order does not alter the obligation of ECF Program participants to 
comply with the Commission's rules, including their obligation to 
certify to receipt of eligible equipment and/or services on their ECF 
FCC Forms 472 and 474 (i.e., the requests for reimbursement). Nor does 
it impact funding requests for construction of new networks, and the 
Bureau reminds applicants seeking support for future construction that 
they have one year from the date of a funding commitment decision to 
show that construction is completed and services have been provided. 
The Bureau also remind applicants that, unlike E-Rate program rules, 
ECF Program rules do not permit any invoice filing extensions. For this 
reason, any ECF Program participant that requires additional time to 
submit their requests for reimbursement beyond the relief granted 
herein must file a request for waiver directly with the Commission and 
demonstrate good cause.
    9. Finally, the Bureau finds no evidence of waste, fraud, or abuse 
presented by waiving the invoice filing deadline. The Bureau emphasizes 
that the Commission is committed to guarding against waste, fraud, and 
abuse and ensuring that funds disbursed through the ECF Program are 
used for appropriate purposes. Although the Bureau grants a waiver of 
the Commission's invoice filing deadline for the ECF Program, this 
action does not affect the authority of the Commission or USAC to 
conduct audits or investigations to determine compliance with ECF 
Program rules and requirements.

III. Ordering Clauses

    10. Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to the authority contained 
in sections 1-4 and 254 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 
47 U.S.C. 151-154 and 254, and Sec. Sec.  0.91, 0.291, and 1.3 of the 
Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.91, 0.291, and 1.3, that 47 CFR 54.1711 of 
the Commission's rules is waived to the extent provided herein.
    11. It is further ordered, that pursuant to Sec.  1.102(b)(1) of 
the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.102(b)(1), this Order shall be 
effective upon release.
    12. The amended rule adopted in the Order and contained in the 
following constitutes a rule of agency organization, procedure and 
practice and is not subject to the APA requirements pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(A). Accordingly, this amended rule is effective upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 54

    Communications common carriers, Health facilities, Infants and 
children, Internet, Libraries, Puerto Rico, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Schools, Telecommunications, Telephone, Virgin Islands.


[[Page 70985]]


Federal Communications Commission.
Cheryl Callahan
Assistant Chief, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline 
Competition Bureau.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 54 as follows:

PART 54--UNIVERSAL SERVICE

0
1. The authority citation for part 54 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 155, 201, 205, 214, 219, 220, 
229, 254, 303(r), 403, 1004, 1302, and 1601-1609, unless otherwise 
noted.


0
2. Amend 54.1711 by revising paragraph (e) to read as follows:


Sec.  54.1711  Emergency Connectivity Fund requests for reimbursement.

* * * * *
    (e) Service delivery date. For the initial filing window set forth 
in Sec.  54.1708(b) and any subsequent filing windows covering funding 
for purchases made between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022, the service 
delivery date for equipment, other non-recurring services, and 
recurring services is June 30, 2022.

[FR Doc. 2021-26921 Filed 12-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P