USACRural Health CareTelecommunications ProgramPost-Commitment Actions
Service Substitutions

Service Substitutions

Service substitutions allow the applicant to reallocate un-invoiced committed funds to substitute services, modify services, or upgrade services Substitutions provide the flexibility for applicants to spend all the committed funds, even though USAC-supported services may change over the course of the funding commitment. All service substitutions must be requested by the service delivery deadline.

Telecom Program Applicants

FCC Report and Order 19-78 aligned the HCF Program rules for site and service substitutions with the Telecom Program. Telecom Program applicants may request a service substitution for their approved funding commitments. For more information, please refer to the Telecom Program Post-Commitment Change Requests webinar (Held on June 11, 2025) on the Webinars page of the USAC website. A user guide for all post-commitment actions will be posted once all Post-Commitment Change Requests have moved to RHC Connect.

Things to Know

  • Substitution modifications cannot exceed the approved funding amount.
  • Please keep in mind that service substitutions take a minimum of 90 days to process.
  • Substitutions must be submitted by the service delivery deadline.

The material on these web pages is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting the RHC program rules, orders, and other primary sources of information. Applicants and service providers are ultimately responsible for knowing and complying with all RHC program rules and procedures.