[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
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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.
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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