FCC and GSA Team Up to Help Schools and Libraries Save Money on Wi-Fi

In support of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s two overarching goals for the E-rate modernization proceeding -- ensuring all schools and libraries have access to high speed broadband and maximizing the cost-effectiveness of E-rate supported purchases -- the FCC and the General Services Administration (GSA) have entered into an agreement to partner to deliver to schools and libraries the opportunity to consolidate their purchasing power and save significant money on wireless access points, routers, and the other equipment they need to deploy modern, robust Wi-Fi networks.

We expect this opportunity to be available for E-rate applicants in Funding Year 2015. Specifically, the two agencies agreed to work together to establish blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) administered by GSA's National Information Technology Commodity Program (NITCP) for the benefit of E-rate eligible schools and libraries. Once implemented, the BPAs would allow schools and libraries to utilize the GSA's reverse auction platform to seek bids from equipment vendors at prices even better than those already available under the relevant GSA schedule. Given that data in our record indicates that equipment makes up as much as 80 percent of the total cost of internal network deployment, this would provide a real opportunity for all schools and libraries to save potentially significant amounts as they upgrade their internal connections, and allow our limited E-rate dollars to go further.