In 2015 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initiated the five-year Category Two budget test program which established a per student/per school five-year funding allocation to help schools purchase equipment and services necessary to distribute the Internet on a school campus, commonly known as internal connections or WiFi.

USAC has announced the USAC annual fall applicant trainings. The two-day sessions, available to attendees free of charge, start with an optional half-day afternoon session targeted to beginners followed by a full-day training that includes separate breakout sessions for beginners and for more advanced users.

The Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) reviewers are working diligently to keep the application review process moving quickly in an effort to fund as many applications as possible prior to September 1, 2019. It is important to be aware of the option to place the review of your FCC Form 471 on hold using the summer deferral option since we are now nearing the time of year when many schools will have limited personnel available.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) issued the first wave of funding commitments for Funding Year 2019 on April 27, 2019. In the first wave, USAC approved 1,675 funding requests for over 1,000 of California’s school and library applicants, for a total of 14% of all funding requested in California.

The Funding Year 2019 FCC Form 471 application window closed March 27. While the 2019 E-rate program cap was set by the Federal Communications Commission at $4.151 billion, the total demand as of the close of the window was reported by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) as $2.896 billion, well below the cap.

The FCC Form 471 filing window for Funding Year 2019 closed on Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. EDT (8:59 p.m. PDT).

In the March 8, 2019 Schools and Libraries News Brief, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) announced the Funding Year 2019 Category 2 budgets, indexed to an inflation factor of 2.2%.

Many public agencies including public schools and libraries utilize the state master contract CALNET 3 for the purchase of broadband and telecommunications services, some of which may be eligible for E-rate discounts.

On January 3, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a limited waiver (DA 19-15 ) for victims of the October 2017 wildfires in eight counties designated by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as eligible for disaster relief.

On January 3, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a limited waiver (DA 19-15 PDF) for victims of the October 2017, wildfires in eight counties designated by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as eligible for disaster relief: Butte, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Sonoma, Lake, Orange, and Yuba.