The Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) of the Federal Communications Commission has issued an Order extending the E-Rate filing window for new Tribal library entities to 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 26, 2022. Specifically, WCB has granted a waiver of the funding year 2022 application filing deadline, which is March 22, 2022, and directed the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to treat any such application as timely filed if received within 65 days of the deadline. The waiver covers E-Rate applications with a new Tribal library (one that has not filed for E-Rate support before). WCB found special circumstances existed because the Tribal Libraries Order was released in the middle of the annual E-Rate application filing window, thereby expanding eligibility without affording sufficient time for the new entities to initiate the required competitive bidding process.
