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CAF and RDOF reporting solution

Reporting compliance with Connect America Funding (CAF) and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)

SamKnows Performance Check

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have the programs Connect America Fund (CAF) and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which provide funding to ISPs to extend broadband services to hard-to-reach areas of the country. ISPs that accept this funding must ensure that the broadband service they provide meets certain speed and latency requirements. We have a fully compliant solution that is quick to implement; it collects all the data you need for your Form 499 submission.

Current data access

Currently, it is likely you receive your broadband performance data just prior to the submission deadline. The not-knowing if your data will show your broadband is meeting the set requirements can leave you anxious, and wondering if you’ll be penalised. 

Instant data access

Our product gives you access to your broadband performance data whenever you want. After all, knowledge is power. 

Easier for you

Our product will run tests and compare results to set requirements. And to make things easier for you, we generate the data in the Universal Services Administration Company (USAC) compliant format.

Monitor compliance and instantly download pre-formatted .csv files in accordance to the CAF Performance Data Requirements.

How our service works

Receiving funding from the CAF or RDOF is fantastic. You are able to work towards improving broadband performance in underserved areas of the US, allowing more citizens to have access to the essential Internet services.

But while the stress of the CAF/RDOF applications are well behind you, the worry each quarter of meeting the required obligations to continue to receive receiving funding has not gone away, when you submit your data to USAC.

Implementation

There are several ways to integrate our service. You can either integrate our Router Agent into your existing CPE (we have already integrated into several different CPE contact us to find out more), or your customers can use an off the shelf Plume device which has our Agent pre-installed, or use a panel of SamKnows Whiteboxes.

Testing frequency

Pre-Testing windows will run continuously throughout the reporting period, adding new units as they come online. We run testing throughout the quarter, so you never miss a week of valid testing. 

Methodology

Our service will run upload, download and latency tests hosted on a private server, at an approved FCC location or on-net server for certain geographies. 

Extra checks

Our data analysts will run regular reports on your data to make sure your submissions will be successful. We also work hard to ensure that the reporting adheres to the strict requirements and that measurements are performed in a consistent way, to avoid unnecessary failed submissions.

For reassurance, our testing framework is in compliance with FCC Performance Measures Orders. You also have access to dedicated technical support, and expert analysts.

Support if results are below expectation

Existing clients are typically provided a data-complete USAC submission 2-3 weeks into the quarter. If your results don’t show you have the required amount of data, our team can help provide insights to help you resolve these issues quickly, and support you until you have a USAC-ready report.

Get peace of mind

So why wait to get your data? With SamKnows, you can be confident your broadband is delivering as expected well in advance of the quarterly submission date. And if you aren’t delivering as expected, the SamKnows Platform will identify this and help you get to a resolution faster.

Additional Quality of Experience metrics our Agents can monitor for you

As an added bonus, our Test Agents give you access to the full SamKnows measurement functionality, including our entire QoE and QoS test suite, giving you visibility into the end-to-end performance of your network and your customers' experience too.

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