Universal Service Administrative Company

The Universal Service Administrative Company’s estimate of demand for the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Mechanism discounts (also known as the E-rate) for Funding Year (FY) 2020 is $2.91 billion, of which $1.74 billion is for Category 1 services (mainly broadband internet access service) and $1.17 billion is for Category 2 services (mainly internal connections).

The total projected collected interstate and international end-user revenue base to be used in determining the contribution factor for the Universal Service support mechanisms for the first quarter of 2020 is $11,129,976,956.

The Universal Service Administrative Company used airborne drones to measure mobile wireless coverage in Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria. USAC’s vendor conducted a total of 20 drone tests in Puerto Rico; one of which was overlapped by a drive test in order to compare relative performance. The remaining 19 drone tests were conducted in impassible areas. Within Puerto Rico, the test evidence suggests that drones are capable of quickly surveying smaller areas, but may not be as useful for surveying larger areas in a cost-effective manner at this time.

On June 18, 2018, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and the Federal Communications Commission deployed the National Verifier (NV) system, kicking off the initial Soft Launch phase in six states. Since then, USAC has launched in ten additional states/territories across two separate launches. States and territories in the June 2018 and October 2018 launches are in the Full Launch phase, meaning carriers are required to use the NV system. In addition, consumers have access to use the system in these states.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) submitted the federal Universal Service Support Mechanisms fund size and administrative cost projections for the second quarter of calendar year 2019 (2Q2019), in accordance with Federal Communications Commission rules. USAC projects a consolidated operating and capital budget of $59.90 million for 2Q2019. Direct operating and capital costs for all support mechanisms total $34.66 million and are listed for each mechanism in the chart provided below.

Effective immediately, as of May 2018, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) will accept payments to and distribute funds from the US Treasury. This is not a change to USAC’s administration of the Universal Service Fund (USF).