About the program
The E-Rate
The E-Rate is a federal program, run by the FCC and administered by USAC, that brings broadband to classrooms and to the public areas of libraries. It is funded by a fee on phone bills and awards about $3 billion a year.
It isn't a competitive grant
Every eligible school and library can receive funding. You must apply each year, within the application window.
Funding is a discount on your eligible expenditures. The discount runs from 20% to 90%, set by the percentage of your students eligible for the National School Lunch Program.
Category 1 · Broadband
- Internet connections
- Connections between locations (wide area network)
All eligible expenditures are discounted.
Category 2 · Internal connections
- Wireless access points, switches, routers, and firewalls (partially)
- Licenses and maintenance for eligible equipment
- Data network cabling
Discounted up to a five-year budget of $201.57 per full-time student. The new cycle runs from FY 2026-2027 to FY 2030-2031.
Not eligible: computers, tablets, smartboards, cameras, door locks.
Recent and upcoming changes
What's changing
Form 486 is going away
The FCC eliminated the Form 486 effective FY 2028-2029, as part of a broader effort to simplify the program.
A new bidding portal
Starting in FY 2028-2029, all bids, vendor communication, evaluations, and contracts must go through a USAC portal. It adds burden at Form 471 filing and may conflict with state procurement rules.
Form 498 needs a SAM.gov UEI
Applicants who haven't filed a Form 498 since 2023 must file one with a SAM.gov Unique Entity ID before August 2026.
Eligible services narrowed
Bus Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi hotspot lending were removed, retroactive to FY 2025-2026. Service contracts moved from maintenance to internal connections.
For the full details, see our E-Rate 2026 slides (PDF).
Advocacy
The program itself is at risk
The FCC has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that asks whether the E-Rate should be sunset or restricted to rural areas. Schools and libraries can respond by filing comments with the FCC and contacting their members of Congress.
The most useful comments describe local effects: what the E-Rate has enabled in your district, and what you would lose without it.
Be specific: How is the Internet used in a 4th-grade classroom? In an AP Biology classroom?