E-rate/Schools and Libraries Program

Overcoming the challenge of connecting rural AZ to broadband

Milan Eaton, director of the E-Rate program for the Arizona Department of Education, uses the federal program to install high-speed internet infrastructure in schools in remote areas across AZ. According to the White House, 14% of Arizonans live in areas with no broadband infrastructure at minimally acceptable speeds.

SpaceX Is Working to Bring Starlink to School Buses

SpaceX is aiming to expand its satellite internet service Starlink to school buses in the US. The company mentioned the effort in a September 20 filing with the Federal Communications Commission.

FCC Extends Delivery Deadline for Certain 2020/21 E-Rate Services

To provide relief to E-Rate program participants affected by this unprecedented national pandemic, the FCC will extend the service implementation deadline to September 30, 2023 for certain funding year 2020 and 2021 applicants with non-recurring service deadlines that expire on September 30, 2022. In providing this relief, the FCC seeks to prevent schools and libraries from losing their funding due to circumstances out of their control, alleviate administrative burdens, and assist schools and libraries by giving them additional time to receive the equipment and services they need to serve t

Sen Bennet highlights bipartisan efforts to close the digital divide

At the annual National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) conference in Denver, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) highlighted the progress Congress has made to expand access to high-speed, affordable broadband and close the digital divide. In 2021, Sen. Bennet introduced the bipartisan Broadband Reform and Investment to Drive Growth in the Economy (BRIDGE) Act with Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Angus King (I-MA), which was incorporated into the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to make the single largest investment in broadband in history.

FCC Directs USAC To Fully Fund Eligible E-Rate Requests

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced that there is sufficient funding available to fully meet the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) estimated demand for category one and two requests for E-Rate supported services for funding year 2022. USAC estimates the total demand for funding year 2022 will be $3.15 billion, which includes $1.64 billion for category one services and $1.51 billion for category two services.

Sponsor: 

Schools Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and the State E-Rate Coordinators Alliance

Date: 
Wed, 10/12/2022 - 17:30 to 19:30

Join Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition and the State E-rate Coordinators' Alliance (SECA) and distinguished E-rate visionaries to celebrate the program's 25th anniversary of bringing affordable broadband to America's schools and libraries.

Drinks and light hors d'oeuvres will be served.

The reception is free and open to past and present supporters of the E-rate program.



Protecting students from exposure to harmful online content

Over the past two years, school districts have sent kids home with laptops and tablets in unprecedented numbers. Thousands of these devices and the internet connections that power them have been purchased through two federal subsidy programs overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) known as E-Rate and the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF).  Giving students these devices has led to a dramatic increase in screen time and made it more difficult for parents to protect their children from exposure to objectively harmful online content.

FCC Seeks Comment On Proposed Eligible Services List for the E-Rate Program

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on the proposed eligible services list (ESL) for the schools and libraries universal service support mechanism (more commonly known as the E-Rate program) for funding year 2023. The FCC has included its proposed eligible services list here and invites stakeholders to comment.

The Future of Universal Service is Still in the Future

When it comes to broadband, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is about more than money. For example, Congress also directed the Federal Communications Commission to consider the impact of the law's $65 billion broadband investment on the FCC's existing broadband support programs under the umbrella of the Universal Service Fund (known to wonks as the USF).

New Research Finds Extending School, Library Networks Key to Connecting Households

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition and New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) released