January 2, 2025
USAC Encourages Carriers to Submit and Certify Fourth Quarter Network Testing Results by Jan. 7
USAC encourages carriers to submit and certify results from network speed and latency testing conducted in the fourth quarter of 2024 at a random sample of broadband subscriber locations supported by the Connect America Fund (CAF) in the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM) by Tues., Jan. 7, 2025, so that USAC can produce fourth quarter compliance reports to help carriers track their progress in meeting the requirements of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures compliance framework.
USAC provides quarterly compliance reports to carriers that certify their test results within one week of the end of the quarter – no later than Tues., Jan. 7, 2025, for results from the fourth quarter of 2024 – to help them track their progress in meeting FCC speed and latency metrics, address any shortfalls and submit any missing data. Read the full announcement here.
December 26, 2024
Compliance Reports Now Available for 2023 and Q2, Q3 2024 Network Testing
Carriers subject to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Performance Measures testing framework can now access compliance reports displaying annual results from network performance measures testing conducted in 2023 through the USAC Performance Measures Module (PMM). These compliance reports include details at the Study Area Code (SAC) level about the percent of upload and download speed tests and latency tests aggregated across all four quarters of 2023 that met the network performance standards established by the FCC performance measures compliance framework. Please see PMM Compliance Calculations for a detailed explanation of how the PMM calculates compliance.
Annual compliance reports for 2023 are now available in the PMM for carriers participating in the following funds (as well as ACS):
Carriers in these funds can also access compliance reports for the second and third quarters of 2024 through the PMM if they submitted and certified their second quarter test results by April 12, 2024, and their third quarter results by Oct. 7, 2024.
Note that USAC is still processing compliance reports for carriers participating in the Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF BLS) program and will make those available as soon as possible. Read the full announcement here.
December 13, 2024
USAC Launches New CAF State Map
USAC has launched a new online map that provides a big-picture, state-level view of the impact of the Connect America Fund (CAF) on broadband expansion in rural America, as well as a new online search tool that displays details about CAF-supported broadband deployment by speed tier.
The new map and tool are the latest additions to a series of online applications that provide public access to broadband deployment and payment information for the Connect America Fund as part of USAC’s Open Data initiative, which makes data about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF) available and easily accessible to the general public.
The new Connect America Fund State Map (CAF State Map) displays total broadband deployment obligations by location count, total cumulative deployment reported so far by location count and total cumulative funding paid out to date – all on a state-by-state basis – by aggregating data for all carriers participating in the Connect America Fund in each state. Read the full announcement here.
November 14, 2024
Annual HUBB Filing Due March 3, 2025
The annual HUBB filing deadline is coming soon. Carriers participating in modernized Connect America Fund (CAF) programs with defined fixed broadband buildout obligations have until March 3, 2025, to file and certify deployment data with USAC’s High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal showing where they built out mass-market, high-speed Internet service in calendar year 2024 or certify that they have “no locations to upload.”
This includes carriers participating in the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced ACAM) program, which will be filing in the HUBB for the first time and will be reporting deployment data using the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric), a single, standardized dataset of all locations in the U.S. where fixed broadband access service is available or could be installed. (See details below).
Please join USAC at 2 p.m. ET on Thurs., Jan. 9, 2025, for a webinar overview of the HUBB reporting requirements, a walk-through of the system and an explanation of the HUBB filing process for Enhanced ACAM carriers. Register here.
Read the full announcement here.
