Dive Brief:
- The Federal Communications Commission has released its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, in which it seeks $388 million and reiterates its goals for the E-Rate program.
- According to the budget doc, the E-Rate program aims to meet the needs of 21st century schools and libraries by providing faster broadband. Additionally, the FCC hopes to make the E-rate application process easier and maximize the effectiveness of spending for E-Rate-supported products.
- The budget request also explains that the FCC wants to transfer $25 million from the Universal Service Fund for the Office of Inspector General (OIG) so that it can provide additional oversight to programs like the E-Rate initiative.
Dive Insight:
The FCC has been on a real swing lately, pumping more and more dollars into the E-Rate program. In December, it added $1.5 billion, and, after a vote, the program's funding cap was raised to $3.9 billion, the first increase in 16 years.
So what is the E-Rate program? It's an initiative that allows schools and libraries to get discounts on Internet and WiFi through subsidization. After President Obama's 2013 announcement of the ConnectEd initiative, which aims to see high speed Internet in 99% of U.S. schools by 2017, the E-Rate program has been focused on getting that infrastructure into place.
