As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and libraries have been forced to confront unprecedented operational and budgetary challenges. This page therefore endeavors to collect and share important resources that will be relevant to all E-rate stakeholders.
E-rate Program Rule Updates / Waivers
FCC waives and extends several important program deadlines. These include but are not limited to service delivery deadlines, invoice filing deadlines, and deadlines to file appeals or waiver requests. You may find the FCC’s Order here.
FCC waives gift rules to allow “participants to solicit and accept, improved connections or additional equipment for . . . remote learning during the coronavirus outbreak.” The FCC limited this waiver to “offerings made by service providers and solicited or accepted by E-Rate eligible entities on behalf of students, teachers, or patrons while schools and libraries prepare for closures or remain closed as a direct result of COVID-19, regardless of funding year.” This Order may be found here.
Advocacy Efforts to Close the Homework Gap
Many school districts have no choice but to deliver pupil instruction remotely or through some hybrid means. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of pupils nationwide do not have Internet access at home. For this reason, many advocacy groups and organizations, including Future Ready Schools, the State E-rate Coordinators’ Alliance (SECA), and the Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB), have spearheaded efforts to petition the FCC to make funding available for broadband at home.
In addition, organizations are petitioning the FCC to set aside additional funding support to help pay the cost of bandwidth upgrades necessitated by circumstances directly related to COVID-19.
More information concerning their efforts can be found at the links below:
Bandwidth Increases
The FCC released an Order to announce a special filing window to address bandwidth upgrades deemed necessary as a direct result of COVID-19. The window opened on September 21 at noon and will close on October 16. The following represent some highlights of the Order:
The Order applies only to existing entities; you will not receive E-rate support for new schools or non-instructional facilities that were not included in your original Form 471.
No new Form 470 is required to upgrade your C1 service(s) for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
The price per megabit cannot exceed the price per megabit of your original FRN. USAC will only commit funding on new FRNs up to the price per megabit originally requested.
No additional Category 2 funding support for Category 2 goods and services (e.g., firewalls, wireless access points, etc.).
No funding support for off-campus Internet or 1-to-1 devices.
E-rate support may be available under Category One for eligible network electronics used to distribute Internet access (e.g., switches).
Upgraded services that will continue beyond June 30, 2021 will be subject to the normal competitive bidding requirements (e.g. Form 470) in the upcoming application cycle.
If you have already upgraded service, USAC may provide funding support back to the original date of implementation (as early as 7/1/20).
Contact either Vince or Geoff today to discuss the Order and resolve any other questions you may have.
Other Important E-rate Considerations
The FCC released the proposed Eligible Services List for the next (FY21-22) E-rate application cycle. You can find the Public Notice here.
The upcoming application cycle ushers in a new set of Category Two rules. Some of the highlights include:
Complete refresh of C2 budget funding support;
Fixed 5-year C2 budget periods (2021-2026, 2026-2031, etc);
District-wide budgets, rather than school-specific;
C2 budget multiplier fixed at $167 for 2021-2026 period;
Equipment transfer rules eliminated.
To date, the FCC has given no indication as to whether the current public health crisis will somehow impact the upcoming funding window or lead to a revised eligibility list.