If your company has received funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the Connect America Fund (CAF), or the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Model (E-ACAM), you're building the future of American broadband. This incredible opportunity, however, comes with significant performance and compliance obligations.

The window for proactive network testing is closing, and starting now—well ahead of key deadlines—is the single most important step you can take to protect your funding and ensure the success of your deployment.

🎯 The High Stakes: Avoiding Compliance Penalties

The FCC and program administrators like the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) are serious about accountability. These programs mandate rigorous speed and latency testing to prove you are delivering the promised service to your funded locations.

Key Deadlines and Consequences

• E-ACAM Carriers: While official testing for the new 100/20 Mbps obligations doesn't begin until January 1, 2027, quarterly "pre-testing" starts in 1Q 2026. Starting to test today gives you a crucial year of preparation.
• CAF Programs (including RDOF): Existing programs already have mandatory quarterly testing. Non-compliance with performance standards can result in the withholding or recovery of up to 25% of your monthly support. USAC provides a one-year period to cure non-compliance, but the financial risk and administrative burden are significant.
• BEAD Program: The BEAD program largely follows the same rigorous testing guidelines as CAF and E-ACAM.  The speed and latency testing requirements are the same, but the frequency of the testing required is only once per year.  While annual is the baseline federal requirement, Eligible Entities (states and territories) can require more frequent testing under certain conditions, such as non-compliance. Preparation is essential to avoid surprises when the rules are finalized.

The biggest mistake is waiting for the deadline. If you start testing just before the official compliance date and find a systemic network issue, you won't have enough time to diagnose, fix, and retest before the reporting is due.

Testing is More Than Compliance: It’s Network Health

Treating network testing merely as a compliance exercise is a mistake. Proactive testing transforms into an invaluable network health and optimization tool.

1. Optimize Your Network Investment

Your BEAD, CAF, or E-ACAM funds are a massive investment. How do you ensure you're getting the most out of every mile of fiber or every access point?

• Find Hidden Bottlenecks: Regular, automated testing helps you pinpoint capacity or latency issues that are not yet visible to your customer support team. You can identify undeserved areas or over-subscribed segments before they lead to customer complaints.
• Validate Technology: Whether you are using Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) or Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), testing provides objective data to validate that the technology you chose is performing as designed in the real world.

2. Improve the Customer Experience

End users don't care which government program funded their service—they just want it to work. Consistent network testing directly translates to a better customer experience.

• Proactive Issue Resolution: Catching and fixing performance degradations before your subscribers notice them reduces truck rolls and decreases customer churn.
• Build Trust: A reliable network is your best marketing tool, especially in newly served areas.

3. Strengthen Future Grant Applications

The current round of funding is not the last. Future state and federal programs will favor providers with a proven track record of performance.

The data you collect today—demonstrating consistent performance across your funded footprint—will be your strongest evidence when applying for follow-on state grants, partnerships, and additional federal funding. Testing builds credibility.

🏁 Your Next Steps: Get Operational Today

Don't let your multi-million-dollar investment be jeopardized by a failure to meet performance metrics. Here’s what you should do now:

1. Understand the Fine Print: Familiarize yourself with the exact testing requirements for your specific funding program (e.g., the FCC's mandated minimum sample sizes, quarterly reporting schedules, and speed/latency thresholds).
2. Establish a Testing Framework: Deploy an automated, performance testing solution that can handle the rigorous demands of collecting data at the customer premises, as required by the FCC.
3. Integrate Compliance into Operations: Make performance monitoring an ongoing operational priority, not a quarterly scramble. This ensures you're ready for compliance certification while simultaneously gaining actionable insights into your network’s health.

✅ Why ATS is a Good Choice for Testing

When compliance and financial recovery are on the line, selecting an experienced, specialized testing partner is critical. ATS is a strong choice for handling your BEAD, CAF, and E-ACAM network testing due to its deep history and specialized focus on telecom regulatory compliance:

• Pioneering Experience in FCC Testing: ATS is recognized as one of the pioneers in the FCC's performance testing programs. They have successfully conducted millions of speed and latency tests for providers participating in federal programs like CAF and A-CAM for over five years. This long-standing expertise means they understand the nuances of the FCC's testing methodology and reporting rules.
• Automated and Compliant Platform: ATS offers a managed, automated testing platform, often referred to by its legacy name, 'Stamper.' This system is designed to:
  • Automate Test Scheduling: Handle the complex, time-aligned scheduling of tests during peak usage hours (typically 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM local time) as required by the FCC.
  • Ensure Data Integrity: The platform incorporates measures to account for real-world factors like cross-talk, providing an accurate picture of end-user speeds.
  • Format for Submission: Generate submission-ready datasets formatted precisely to USAC and FCC compliance rules, minimizing your administrative burden and risk of rejection.
• Comprehensive Compliance Support: ATS specialists manage the entire testing process, including test server establishment, subscriber-side configurations, and data analysis. This allows your team to focus on network operations and deployment, rather than becoming compliance experts.
• Actionable Network Insights: Beyond mere compliance, the data collected offers real-time dashboard visibility and quarterly analytics to help you identify performance trends and address network problems before they result in compliance failures or customer complaints.
  
  

ATS provides the necessary blend of proven technology, regulatory expertise, and managed service that turns a complex federal requirement into a streamlined operational task.

Here is the contact information for Advanced Technologies and Services, Inc. (ATS), 

📞 Advanced Technologies and Services, Inc. (ATS) Contact Information