FCC Sets New Filing Windows for Requesting Rural Healthcare USF Support
FCC staff announced two new filing windows for seeking USF rural healthcare support for the 2016 funding year that began July 1, plus another window for the 2017 funding year. The program provides subsidies for rural healthcare telecom services and…
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broadband connectivity. An initial March 1-June 1 filing window drew $35.5 million in requests, with the program operating on a first-come, first-served basis since then, said a Wireline Bureau public notice Friday in docket 02-60. A new filing window is Sept. 1-Nov. 30, with no funding requests accepted through Jan. 31 the PN said. Universal Service Administrative Co. will process all the requests to that point; if there's still funding available under the FCC $400 million annual cap for the program, which the bureau expects, a third funding request window will run Feb. 1-April 30, with the possibility of a new window after that, it said. It also announced an overlapping initial filing window of Feb. 1-April 30 for the funding year that begins on July 1, 2017. The PN said demand for rural healthcare USF support has been growing and could reach the $400 million cap during one of the windows for this funding year, which would require USAC to divvy up support to qualifying requests on a "pro-rata basis" for that window.