ECF Clarifications and Questions
There are 3 weeks left to submit an application for the Emergency Connectivity Fund! The first window will close August 13th. It is not yet known if a 2nd or 3rd window will open. The FCC has indicated that a 2nd window will be retrospective, however they are listening to see if there is interest in a second prospective window (no confirmed information on this yet).
Since the ECF window has opened, USAC has hosted weekly Office Hour webinars where attendees can ask specific questions about the program and application. I highly recommend attending these webinars. I have had several of my own questions answered in recent sessions. These sessions are every Wednesday at 1pm MT for all applicants, and every Thursday at 2pm MT for Tribal applicants.
Do you have a question or a scenario you’d like to consider for the ECF? Please contact me to discuss it! You can reply to this email, or give me a call at 208-332-6993.
For developing a best estimate of unmet need:
A school may rely on publicly available data such as maps or other data about the lack of connectivity and home computers in their community.
A school may rely on the financial ability of families to pay for home computers and connectivity for their unmet need best estimates. Specifically, schools can use NSLP information for their estimates.
A survey of parents/families is not mandatory for a school’s best estimate of unmet need.
NTIA’s “Indicators of Broadband Need Map” incorporates various data sources to show the percentage of households in a geographic area, down to the county and census block and census tract levels, that do not have computers or internet and then provides that data in both map and downloadable data formats. The updated broadband availability maps at NTIA’s website that combine several data sources, including some of the FCC’s own data, that may be helpful to schools and libraries for estimating unmet need. The map was created by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/resources/data-and-mapping
As stated on the webinar and also in today’s Public Notice –
An order for ECF services/equipment does NOT have to be placed prior to submitting a Form 471 application.
A certification statement in the application had implied that applicants must have already ordered the equipment prior to funding. This has been clarified
Replacing obsolete 1:1 devices is allowed as long as those devices are meeting an unmet need that provides accessibility to off-campus educational purposes.
Invoice deadline for nonrecurring charges is 60 days from the date listed on the form 471 as the service end date (June 30, 2022) which is August 29, 2022. DA-21-881A1.docxDA-21-881A1.pdfDA-21-881A1.txt