§  54.621   Filing window for requests and prioritization of support.

   (a) Filing window for requests. (1) The Administrator shall open an
   initial application filing window with an end date no later than 90
   days prior to the start of the funding year (i.e., no later than April
   1). Prior to announcing the initial opening and closing dates, the
   Administrator shall seek the approval of the proposed dates from the
   Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau.

   (2) The Administrator, after consultation with the Wireline Competition
   Bureau, may implement such additional filing periods as it deems
   necessary. To the extent that the Administrator opens an additional
   filing period, it shall provide notice and include in that notice or
   soon thereafter the amount of remaining available funding.

   (3) The Administrator shall treat all health care providers filing an
   application within a filing window period as if their applications were
   simultaneously received. All funding requests submitted outside of a
   filing window will not be accepted unless and until the Administrator
   opens another filing window.

   (b) Prioritization of support. The Administrator shall act in
   accordance with this section when a filing window period for the
   Telecommunications Program and the Healthcare Connect Fund Program, as
   described in paragraph (a) in this section, is in effect. When a filing
   period described in paragraph (a) in this section closes, the
   Administrator shall calculate the total demand for Telecommunications
   Program and Healthcare Connect Fund Program support submitted by all
   applicants during the filing window period. If the total demand during
   the filing window period exceeds the total remaining support available
   for the funding year, then the Administrator shall distribute the
   available funds consistent with the following priority schedule:

   Table 1 to Paragraph (b)—Prioritization Schedule
   Health care provider site is located in: In a medically
   underserved
   area/population (MUA/P) Not in MUA/P
   Extremely Rural Tier (counties entirely outside of a Core Based
   Statistical Area) Priority 1 Priority 4.
   Rural Tier (census tracts within a Core Based Statistical Area that
   does not have an urban area or urban cluster with a population equal to
   or greater than 25,000) Priority 2 Priority 5.
   Less Rural Tier (census tracts within a Core Based Statistical Area
   with an urban area or urban cluster with a population equal to or
   greater than 25,000, but where the census tract does not contain any
   part of an urban area or urban cluster with population equal to or
   greater than 25,000) Priority 3 Priority 6.
   Non-Rural Tier (all other non-rural areas) Priority 7 Priority 8.

   (1) Application of prioritization schedule. The Administrator shall
   fully fund all eligible requests falling under the first prioritization
   category before funding requests in the next lower prioritization
   category. The Administrator shall continue to process all funding
   requests by prioritization category until there are no available funds
   remaining. If there is insufficient funding to fully fund all requests
   in a particular prioritization category, then the Administrator will
   pro-rate the available funding among all eligible requests in that
   prioritization category only pursuant to the proration process
   described in paragraph (b)(2) in this section.

   (2) Pro-rata reductions. The Administrator shall act in accordance with
   this section when a filing window period for the Telecommunications
   Program and the Healthcare Connect Fund Program, as described in
   paragraph (a) in this section, is in effect. When a filing window
   period described in paragraph (a) in this section closes, the
   Administrator shall calculate the total demand for Telecommunications
   Program and Healthcare Connect Fund Program support submitted by all
   applicants during the filing window period. If the total demand during
   a filing window period exceeds the total remaining support available
   for the funding year, the Administrator shall take the following steps:

   (i) The Administrator shall divide the total remaining funds available
   for the funding year by the demand within the specific prioritization
   category to produce a pro-rata factor;

   (ii) The Administrator shall multiply the pro-rata factor by the total
   dollar amount requested by each applicant in the prioritization
   category; and

   (iii) The Administrator shall commit funds to each applicant for
   Telecommunications Program and Healthcare Connect Fund Program support
   consistent with this calculation.