Customer Master 16.2 Addendum

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Marilynn Williamson
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Customer Master 16.2 Addendum Date: December 2016 From: MACC s Product Development Team Re: Version 16.2.2 Release Addendum: Lifeline - NLAD The following enhancements have been made to the Customer Master software application.

1 Customer Master 16.2 Addendum Date: December 2016 From: MACC s Product Development Team Re: Version Release Addendum: Lifeline - NLAD The following enhancements have been made to the Customer Master software application. Please take time to review these changes, which become effective with Version of Customer Master. This document provides an overview of the changes made and added functionality included in the latest version of the software. It refers to the changes by Module, followed by a brief summary of the enhancements included in that Module. Customer Master s online help has also been updated to include information on the latest enhancements. Please refer to the help documentation for an in-depth explanation of the enhancements included in this letter, or contact your MACC Customer Master Software Support Representative. Web training sessions on these enhancements are also available. Table of Contents Updates to NLAD for Modernization

Lifeline-NLAD Updates to NLAD Lifeline for Modernization 2016 The 2016 Lifeline Modernization Order outlines changes to the Lifeline Program needed to bridge the digital divide that exists today.

2 Lifeline-NLAD Updates to NLAD Lifeline for Modernization 2016 The 2016 Lifeline Modernization Order outlines changes to the Lifeline Program needed to bridge the digital divide that exists today. The inclusion of broadband will help connect all Americans to the internet, closing the homework gap and eliminating the distance to meaningful employment and reliable healthcare. On December 2 nd, 2016, Lifeline program consumers will have the choice, where applicable, of applying their benefit to one of the three types of service offerings: fixed or mobile broadband, fixed or mobile voice, or bundled fixed or mobile voice and broadband. In order for companies to provide this information on their subscribers to USAC, MACC has completed additional programming to the Customer Master release. In this release, users will have the ability update the internet network with Lifeline subscriber information. In previous release of Customer Master, the Lifeline screen was only available on telephone and wireless/cellular network types. 2

Users will notice a little reorganization of the Lifeline screen. This was completed to allow for additional space for the new service type field value.

3 Users will notice a little reorganization of the Lifeline screen. This was completed to allow for additional space for the new service type field value. The service type dropdown matches the field descriptions outlined by NLAD for voice, broadband, bundledvoice, bundledbroadband, and bundledvoicebroadband. These are labeled exactly as NLAD is expecting them in the input file layout used to upload NLAD updates to USAC. Upon upgrade to Customer Master , all current NLAD subscribers will be set to, voice, as their service type. This action coordinates with the defaulting of all current subscribers to voice that USAC will complete on December 2 nd. If subscribers wish to change their service from telephone voice service to broadband, users can simply update the service type on the existing Lifeline screen. There is no need to de-enroll on the telephone Lifeline screen and reenroll them on the internet screen. 3

Several programs that allowed Lifeline subscribers to be eligible for the benefit are changing. Customer Master has also been updated to accommodate for those changes.

4 Several programs that allowed Lifeline subscribers to be eligible for the benefit are changing. Customer Master has also been updated to accommodate for those changes. The following programs are being eliminated as of 12/2/2016 and have been removed from the Customer Master dropdown. E5-Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) E6-Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) E7-National School Lunch Programs Free Lunch Program E12-State Assistance Programs 4

5 The eligibility programs that are being eliminated will remain in the Customer Master database, but will be made inactive. These programs will not be available to be selected going forward and any accounts that currently have those program codes will need to be updated with the new eligibility code after upgrade to CM and the December 2 nd NLAD program updates. One new eligibility code is being added: E15-Veterens Pension and Survivors Benefit Program 5

In previous releases of Customer Master, we were able to auto populate the Phone Number in the NLAD field, due to Lifeline assistance only being applicable on telephone and wireless network types

6 In previous releases of Customer Master, we were able to auto populate the Phone Number in the NLAD field, due to Lifeline assistance only being applicable on telephone and wireless network types with a 10-digit network number. With Lifeline being added to the internet network and the ability to use alpha numeric values, we will no longer be able to auto populate the Phone Number in the NLAD field. Users will now find this field required. If users are in the Lifeline screen for a telephone or wireless network, the execute button can be used to populate the network number into the Phone Number in NLAD field. Users will see this execute button disables in the Lifeline screen of the internet network. 6

7 Users must also ensure they have added their SAC to each of their internet report areas. User can locate the report area maintenance table at Maintenance/Common/Report Area. In the NLAD input data file, the only column that has been added is the Service Type in column AQ of the NLAD file layout. 7

8 The Lifeline Tribal Benefit flag is now a required field in the NLAD input file. This field has been on the Lifeline screen in past releases of Customer Master, but it was an optional field in the NLAD input file. If a company is offering tribal rates to the qualified subscriber, please check this box to claim Lifeline tribal support. Otherwise, leave it blank and Customer Master will enter the appropriate value in the NLAD file. 8

9 This file creation can be executed at Tools/Mass Processing/Lifeline/Create and Update NLAD File. This additional column must be present on any files uploaded to the USAC site on or after December 2 nd. *Please note we received some erroneous errors during our testing using Internet Explorer to upload our test files. In our contacts with USAC, we have been advised that they are working on a number issues for the December 2 nd deadline, including the ability to return the proper response error. They suggest using Firefox or Chrome to upload the batch files until the Internet Explorer issue has been resolved. 9

To provide users with better filtering of their Lifeline data, MACC has added the service type to the Lifeline grid, as well as to the Billed Lifeline Audit CSV report.

10 To provide users with better filtering of their Lifeline data, MACC has added the service type to the Lifeline grid, as well as to the Billed Lifeline Audit CSV report. A new column has also been added to the Lifeline grid and to the Billed Lifeline Audit CSV report for a reminder of annual recertification dates on their Lifeline subscribers. This new column is titled NLAD Remind DT. This column will be populated with a reminder date 3 months in advance of the subscriber s annual rolling recertification date. Customer Master will look at the Initialization Date and the Reverification Date of the individual Lifeline subscriber and add 9 months to populate the NLAD Remind Date. The Billed Lifeline Audit CSV report can be found at Tools/Reports/Reports/Billing-Billed Lifeline Audit CSV. 10

11 The new data columns have been added to the end of the report. 11

12 There are other updates to the Lifeline modernization order. Users are encouraged to review that information on the USAC website or contact their consultants to ensure compliance with the 2016 Modernization order. Items in the order that are not affecting the data collection and file formatting within Customer Master, would be Minimum Service Standards and Port Freeze. Users can locate the order on the USAC website. There are numerous past monthly webinars on the changes in the training section of the USAC website that can be viewed. Lastly, USAC has a frequently asked questions section on their website that contains additional information. If users have additional questions on the Customer Master changes that have been outlined in this update letter, please contact your MACC Software Support Representative. 12

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