To start the process, select “Service Provider” from the “Select Entity Type” drop-down menu. Based on your Entity selection, the page will display the required fields for that Entity type. All fields must be filled out unless they are specifically marked as “optional.”
ILEC vs. Non-ILEC
As a Service Provider, you are required to notify the FCC of whether you are an Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) or a non-ILEC provider.
ILEC providers are Entities that were providing traditional local exchange telephone service in a particular area on Feb. 8, 1996, the date on which the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted into law. Each such area has a six-digit Study Area Code (SAC). For more information, see 47 CFR § 51.5.
If you are an ILEC provider, you will need to enter Study Area Codes and Form 499 Filer IDs on this Entity Information page. You will also be required to file Fixed Voice Subscription Data. If at any point you upload Fixed Voice Subscription Data as an ILEC provider, but then wish to change your ILEC status for any future submissions, you must first delete any Fixed Voice Data before changing your ILEC/Non-ILEC status.
Holding Company/Common Control Name
If you have previously submitted your Holding Company name via the BDC system or Form 477 data, your Holding Company name should be pre-populated in this field. You can change the name by clicking the “Edit” icon.
If you are a first-time user of the application, you will need to include your company name in this field.
Enter the parent company name or other name used to associate the filings of all common-owned or commonly controlled Entities. If there is a Holding Company structure, the single name should cover all Entities. If there is no Holding Company structure, the commonly-controlled Entities should decide on the single name to use.
As you type in your Holding Company/Common Control Name, you can select from a pre-populated list. If you choose to enter a name that is not in the pre-populated list, you can type in the name and hit “enter”.
Website URL
Enter the URL that your Entity uses to conduct primary business. This should be a valid domain name that ends in .com, .net, etc., and it must use a valid internet protocol (http:// or https://). If your Entity does not have a website, then click the checkbox to confirm that.
Study Area Codes (SACs)
Voice Service Providers eligible for Universal Service Fund support (Eligible Telecommunications Carriers, or ETCs) have a six-digit Study Area Code (SAC). This includes all ILECs as well as some other fixed voice and mobile voice providers. Each fixed or mobile voice provider covered by this filing that is an ETC must enter its SAC(s). Additional information is available at https://www.fcc.gov/economics-analytics/industry-analysis-division/study-area-boundary-data
The Study Area Codes box will auto-complete based on your entry. You can search by six-digit code or by typing in the name of the SAC. When you find the desired SAC, click the name to include it in the form. If you mistakenly choose an incorrect SAC, click the “x” to delete it from the form.
If you do not have any Study Area Codes associated with your Entity, click the checkbox below the form. ILEC providers are required to provide a Study Area Code.
Note: The list of Study Area Codes used in the BDC application are not updated in real-time. If your SAC was issued recently, it may not be included in the pre-populated list. If this is the case, click the checkbox to signify that your company does not have an assigned SAC. When Certifying your submission, use the Explanations and Comments section to provide the FCC with the recently updated SAC information. This will allow you to enter the information in future filings.
Form 499 Filer IDs
All providers of telecommunications services should have a Form 499 Filer ID.
You can search for your Form 499 Filer ID here. When you see the desired Form 499 Filer ID, click its name to add it into the form. If you mistakenly choose an incorrect Form 499 Filer ID, click the “X” to delete it from the form.
If you do not have a Form 499 Filer ID for your Entity, click the checkbox below the form:
Certifying Engineer Contact Information
By clicking the box that says, “This company submits only fixed voice subscription data and is not required to submit an engineering certification,” your Entity will be prohibited from uploading Availability Data or Supporting Data once you get to the Submission Overview page.
Click the “Save & Continue” button to continue to the Contacts tab.
Contacts
Service providers are required to submit contact information for the following individuals associated with BDC filings:
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Certifying Official - The default contact information for the official (corporate officer, managing partner, or sole proprietor) whose signature certifies the validity of information included in a submission. You can specify a different Certifying Official Contact for each submission.
- You will be required to enter address information for the Certifying Official. Select the “International Address” option to enter an address outside of the United States.
- Data Contact - The Data Contact is responsible for answering questions from FCC staff about the data in a biannual submission. You can specify a different Data Contact when you certify a submission.
- Certifying Engineer - The default contact information for the certified professional engineer or corporate engineering officer who has direct knowledge of, or responsibility for, generating the Availability Data (and Supporting Data). This individual must certify that he or she has checked the information in the submission for accuracy and found it in accordance with the entity's ordinary course of network design and engineering.
- Emergency Operations Contact – The Emergency Operations Contact (EOC) is responsible for providing information concerning network status during natural disasters or other emergencies. You can specify a different EOC for each submission.
- Challenge Contact - The Challenge Contact will receive all communications from the system regarding challenges to your company’s availability data.
Assigning Contacts
You can add contacts via the Contacts section. Select the “Add Contact” button and enter the individual’s required contact information – see screenshot below.
If the contact will be a Certifying Official, select the checkbox indicating that. You will then be required to enter the Certifying Official's address information. Click Save. The contact’s information is then added to “All Contacts” at the top of the page.
You can then assign the contact in the “Contact Type” section lower on the page. Select the drop down for each type and choose the appropriate contact for that type, as shown below.
After you have finished providing the required information, click the “Save” button to continue.
Once the information has been saved successfully, you can click “Submissions Dashboard »” in the bottom right corner, which will directed you to the Submissions Dashboard page.
Brand Name(s)
You must enter all of the Brand Names associated with your Entity to complete the Entity Information Page. A Brand Name is a “doing-business-as name” for your Entity, or the name you use in marketing your service, and it is how your Entity’s broadband availability will appear on the National Broadband Map. Uploading availability data containing a Brand Name that does not match a Brand Name found on the Entity Information Page will result in an error.
In the Brand Names section of the Entity Information Page, click “Add New” to input a new Brand Name. A window will pop up, as illustrated in the screenshot above, prompting you to enter your Entity’s Brand Names. Brand Names must be unique – the system will reject duplicate Brand Names based on spelling and case. Hit either the “Enter” or “Tab” keys once you have entered a Brand Name to add it to the running list in the window, as shown below. Once you have finished adding every Brand Name associated with your Entity, click on the blue “Save” button to submit the list. The “Add New Brand Name” window should automatically close upon saving and the list of Brand Names you entered should now appear in the table below the “Add New” button.
Once you have saved at least one Brand Name to the Entity Information page, you may navigate to the Submissions Dashboard using the blue “Submissions Dashboard” hyperlink below the Brand Names table. For more information on how to enter Brand Name information in the BDC system, please refer to the following guide: https://help.bdc.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/22331005285531-How-to-Enter-Brand-Name-Information-in-the-BDC-System.
Updating Entity Information and Contacts
Every 180 days, your entity information must be updated. Any entities that have not updated their “Entity Information” and “Contacts” in the BDC system will have a “red sprocket“ under Action Required in their Entity Selection page.
Another message will also appear in your “Entity Information” and “Contacts” boxes in the Entity Information page that an update is required.