Countdown is On to the First HUBB Deadline
For many rate-of-return carriers, the first HUBB broadband deployment location data report is due on March 1, 2018. JSI strongly encourages clients to have their required broadband location data prepared no later than the end of January in case additional time is needed to correct errors detected by the HUBB data validator. As a reminder, rate-of-return carriers have the following 2018 deadlines and broadband location data requirements:
- March 1, 2018: CAF-BLS (Legacy) support recipients with defined deployment obligation (i.e., carriers with less than 80% broadband deployment in their study areas) must report all broadband locations newly deployed between May 25, 2016, and December 31, 2017.
- March 1, 2018: A-CAM support recipients must report all broadband locations newly deployed during calendar year 2017.
- July 1, 2018: CAF-BLS (Legacy) support recipients with no defined deployment obligation (i.e., carriers with 80% or greater broadband deployment in their study areas) must report progress on the number of locations where 10/1 Mbps or better broadband service has been deployed during the prior calendar year on the Form 481. The exact specifications of this requirement are not yet available, but in conversations with the FCC, JSI learned that geocoded locations will not be required.
In our experience with testing HUBB data so far, JSI has found the HUBB data validator to be accurate at detecting errors in geocodes. Most frequently we have observed geocodes that do not have five or six digits, geocodes where the latitude and longitude are flip-flopped, and locations that are outside of the eligible A-CAM census blocks. The data validator provides helpful feedback to fix errors effectively.
JSI regulatory staff are available to assist with reviewing your HUBB data, running it through the HUBB data validator, and submitting the data on your behalf via the USAC E-file system. Please let us know as soon as possible, if you have not already done so, if you would like our assistance with the HUBB reporting. The countdown is on, so contact Cassandra Heyne in the Maryland office at 301-459-7590 or Lans Chase in the Georgia office at 770-569-2105 with any questions you have about the HUBB report.