Dive Brief:
- An overwhelming majority — 94% — of 2,355 recently surveyed E-rate applicants consider the program's federal funding vital to their ability to provide internet access for schools and libraries.
- Over 95% of E-rate applicants surveyed also said that cybersecurity supports, like network security, should qualify for E-rate funding, according to a report released Monday by Funds For Learning, a firm that consults with schools and libraries on E-rate.
- The survey findings come at a time of uncertainty for the future of the E-rate program, as the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July struck down the funding mechanism for the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund — which operates E-rate. The Biden administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision in that case, Consumers’ Research v. FCC.
Dive Insight:
While 86% of applicants surveyed in summer 2024 said they would apply for the FCC’s $200 million, three-year cybersecurity pilot program, Funds For Learning said it’s likely far fewer will actually apply now given the “program’s funding limitations.”
John Harrington, CEO of Funds For Learning, said he’s heard anecdotally from E-rate applicants that they’re looking for cybersecurity support from other grants and resources instead of through the FCC’s new cybersecurity pilot.
That’s particularly due to the per-site funding cap for the pilot, Harrington said. Funding for school districts under the pilot program will range from $15,000 to $1.5 million, based on a formula that calculates costs at $13.60 per student.
“Because the dollars are relatively low," many E-rate applicants are concerned, Harrington said. “They only have so much time in a day," he said, so "many of them are actually looking at other grants and things because [if] they’re going to take the time to write a grant, prepare an application, they want to have a high likelihood of success.”
The window to apply for the FCC’s cybersecurity pilot program is closing soon — on Nov. 1.
E-rate experts, including Harrington, have previously called for districts to apply for the FCC’s cybersecurity pilot program to help demonstrate the need to fund more secure networks.
Beyond the need for more cybersecurity supports, E-rate applicants surveyed by Funds for Learning also pointed to the rising costs of internet bandwidth.
“This past year, there was a 15% increase in the demand for internet access data services from the E-rate community, and we saw this also reflected in the survey responses themselves,” Harrington said. “So it’s going to be even more important that the E-rate is there to help offset some of these rising costs.”
Harrison attributed the rising cost in bandwidth to the overall greater need for additional bandwidth in schools, among other reasons. As schools increasingly rely on more devices and teachers grow more comfortable with ed tech tools, the demand for faster internet connections naturally follows.
In the meantime, however, Harrington noted that the E-rate program remains in motion and said schools and libraries should still plan to apply for the federal funds for the next school year.
