May 11, 2021 – The FCC’s Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireline Competition Bureau have announced a June 30, 2021 filing deadline for the biennial recertification of study area boundary data.[1]

Pursuant to the FCC’s 2012 Study Area Boundary Order, incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and state commissions that have voluntarily agreed to file study area boundary data on behalf of some or all ILECs operating within their jurisdictions must review and recertify study area boundary data every two years.

ILECs and state commissions that have uploaded and certified new boundaries between December 31, 2020 and March 15, 2021 are not required to recertify their data this year, but all others must recertify their information by the June 30th deadline. The recertification process, as outlined in the Public Notice, is below:

Step 1 – Confirming Study Area Boundaries – ILECs and certifying state commissions must confirm that the study area boundary data previously provided to the FCC are accurate. Current study area boundary map data are available at https://www.fcc.gov/maps/study-area-boundaries/. Instructions for viewing the map data is available online. If the data is not correct, revised boundary data must be filed through the FCC’s online system at https://sab.fcc.gov/ilec/login/ or https://sab.fcc.gov/state/login/, respectively. FCC staff must be informed of the change via email to StudyAreaBoundaries@fcc.gov.

Step 2 – ILEC Recertification – After an ILEC has confirmed that the FCC’s study area boundary map information is correct, the ILEC must log into https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fcc-user-login, and provide the required recertification information. A tip sheet and instructions for recertifying ILEC study area boundary data electronically is available online.

Step 2 – State Commission Recertification – After a certifying state commission has confirmed that the FCC’s study area boundary map information is correct for its state, the state commission must complete and sign the recertification notification. The completed recertification notification must be emailed to StudyAreaBoundaries@fcc.gov.

Additional information on the study area boundary data collection is available on the FCC’s study area boundary page at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/study-area-boundary-data-collection.

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[1] Biennial Recertifications Of Study Area Boundary Data Are Due No Later Than June 30, 2021, WC Docket No. 10-90, WC Docket No. 05-337, Public Notice, DA 21-552 (May 11, 2021), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-552A1.pdf.