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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations services. Recipients shall also report in detail on the availability of replacement equipment in the marketplace so the Commission can assess whether a general, six-month extension permitted by the statute is appropriate. The report must include a certification that affirms the information in the status report is accurate. After the program recipient has notified the Commission of the completion of the permanent removal, replacement, and disposal of the covered communications equipment or service pursuant to a final certification, updates are no longer required.
170. The Commission directs WCB to provide additional details on the filing requirements and contents for such status updates. Per the statute, the Commission directs WCB to publicly post on the Commissions website the status update filings within 30 days of submission. The Commission further directs WCB to prepare a report for Congress within every 180 days following the funding allocation stage.
The report shall provide an update on the Commissions implementation efforts and the work by recipients of reimbursements . . . to permanently remove, replace, and dispose of covered communications equipment or services.
171. Spending Reports. The Secure Networks Act directs the Commission to require Reimbursement Program recipients to submit reports regarding how reimbursement funds have been spent, including detailed accounting of the covered communications equipment or services permanently removed and disposed of, and the replacement equipment or services purchased, rented, leased or otherwise obtained, using reimbursement funds. Like status updates, spending reports help mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse by allowing the Commission to monitor the recipients funding use to help make sure funds are spent as intended. The statute requires the filing of spending reports on a regular basis but does not otherwise indicate the filing frequency.
172. The Commission sought and received limited comment on the implementation of this statutory provision. The lone commenter, the Rural Wireless Broadband Coalition, understands the benefits of having recipients file such reports but encourages the Commission to limit the filing frequency to a semi-annual basis.
According to Rural Wireless Broadband Coalition, producing these detailed accountings will be a burdensome, timeconsuming exercise for small wireless carriers, requiring them to dedicate scarce resources to track, record, assemble, review, and report extensive
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data related to the removal, replacement, and disposal of covered equipment.
173. The Commission is sensitive to the reporting burden highlighted by Rural Wireless Broadband Coalition.
While the removal, replacement, and disposal term is for a one-year period with possible extensions of time for up to six-months, the Commission finds that requiring filings twice a year will provide information with sufficient frequency to allow the Commission to monitor against waste, fraud, and abuse while mitigating the reporting burden on recipients. Accordingly, the Commission will require Reimbursement Program recipients to file semiannually. Spending reports will be due within 10 calendar days after the end of January and July, starting with the recipients initial draw down of disbursement funds and terminating once the recipient has filed a final spending report showing the expenditure of all funds received as compared to the estimated costs submitted. A final spending report will be due following the filing of a final certification by the recipient.
174. The Commission directs WCB to provide Reimbursement Program recipients with additional details on the filing of and information contained in the spending reports. The Commission also directs WCB to make filed spending reports available to the public via a portal on the Commissions website.
The Commission will consider detailed accounting information on the covered communications equipment or services permanently removed and disposed of, and the replacement equipment or services purchased, rented, leased, or otherwise obtained, using reimbursement funds presumptively confidential and will withhold such disaggregated information from routine public inspection.
175. Final Certification. The Secure Networks Act directs the Commission to require Reimbursement Program recipients to file a final certification in a form and at an appropriate time to be determined by the Commission. In the final certification, the Reimbursement Program recipient must indicate whether it has fully complied with or is in the process of complying with all terms and conditions of the Program and the commitments made in the application of the recipient for the reimbursement; has permanently removed from the communications network of the recipient, replaced, and disposed of or is in the process of permanently removing, replacing, and disposing of all covered communications equipment or services
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that were in the network of the recipient as of the date of the submission of the application of the recipient for the reimbursement; and has fully complied with or is in the process of complying with the timeline submitted by the recipient. The statute also requires the filing of an updated certification if at the time the final certification is filed, the recipient has not fully complied with and completed its obligations under the Reimbursement Program.
176. No comments were filed addressing the final certification required by the Secure Networks Act.
As the Commission lacks discretion to deviate from clear statutory requirements, it adopts a rule requiring recipients to file a final certification and updates as necessary per the statute.
The Commission will require recipients to file the final certification within 10
calendar days of the expiration of the removal, replacement and disposal term because the final certification relates to the completion of the removal, replacement, and disposal process. The final certification will relate to the state of compliance and project completion as of the end of the removal, replacement and disposal term. Subsequently filed final certification updates will relate to the state of compliance and project completion as of the date the update is filed. Notwithstanding the statutory allowance for a final certification update, the failure to complete the removal, replacement, and disposal process in accordance with the Reimbursement Programs requirements by the end of the removal, replacement and disposal term, as evidenced in the filing of the final certification as initially filed, may result in the assessment of fines, forfeitures, and/or other enforcement actions against the recipient. The Commission directs WCB
to provide additional details on the filing requirements and contents for the final certification and associated updates.
177. Documentation Retention Requirement. Reimbursement Program recipients are required to provide documentation, including relevant invoices and receipts, to support requests for the disbursement of reimbursement funds for reasonable expenses actually incurred during the removal, replacement, and disposal process. This documentation helps the Commission assess whether funding is being used as intended for reasonable costs, helps the Commission compare actual costs to submitted estimated costs, and helps to ensure disbursements for actual costs do not exceed the recipients funding allocation. While commenters did not
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