E-rate/Schools and Libraries Program

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said Congress should fund the $8.1 billion Universal Service Fund through annual appropriations. “I do think that the time has come for Congress to shift this to a general appropriation,” said Pai, FCC chairman from 2017 to 2021. “[If USF were funded by appropriation] we wouldn’t have this situation now where we’re essentially getting more and more money from a declining base of contributors.”

Chris Mitchell speaks with Andy Schwartzman, Senior Counselor at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, about pressing legal issues affecting telecommunications policy in the U.S.

The Universal Service Fund (USF) has been stuck in legislative limbo as the government wrestles with how to improve the subsidy program. Experts think USF reform could see momentum in Trump’s second term, but how that will pan out is a trickier question to answer. The USF, which supports broadband access and affordability in rural and low-income communities, is made up of four [sic] smaller programs: Connect America Fund, Lifeline, E-Rate and Rural Health Care. One glaring problem with the current USF framework is the shrinking contribution base.

The future of the $8.5 billion Universal Service Fund (USF), which supports broadband access in schools, libraries, and rural communities, hangs in the balance as three critical court cases move forward. In a rare twist, two cases saw oral arguments on the same day, adding a sense of urgency to the outcomes. These decisions could redefine affordable internet connectivity for students, families, and communities nationwide. We summarize each case and outline the stakes for the E-rate and other USF programs. As we await the courts’ decisions, SHLB is not just observing from the sidelines.

The Federal Communications Commission received 2,734 applications from schools, libraries, and consortia of schools and libraries to participate in the Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program, representing $3.7 billion in requests to fund cybersecurity projects during the three-year program. During the application filing window—which ran from September 17, 2024 through November 1, 2024—the Pilot Program attracted applications from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, including schools and libraries in both rural and urban communities.

A bipartisan group of senators is looking into Universal Service Fund (USF) reform and, even better, there are solutions on which both parties can agree.

AT&T subsidiary Wisconsin Bell last recently reiterated its argument to the Supreme Court that telecommunications companies should not be hit with tougher fines for fraudulent reimbursement requests to a major broadband subsidy program. The company is seeking to overturn a Seventh Circuit ruling that found the False Claims Act applies to reimbursements from the E-Rate program, a broadband subsidy for schools and libraries funded by the $8-billion-per-year Universal Service Fund.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel spoke at the National Congress of American Indians Annual Convention on October 29, 2024. She highlighted some of the important work of the FCC's Office of Native Affairs and Policy, including the new "Missing and Endangered Persons" or MEP alert code. She also highlighted the newly announced Tribal Library E-Rate Advocacy Program, or TLEAP. "We are going to save Indigenous women and girls with our new missing and endangered persons alert code.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the creation of the Tribal Library E-Rate Advocacy Program (T-LEAP), which builds on the Commission’s Tribal Libraries Pilot Program. Through this new, permanent program, interested Tribal libraries will have the opportunity to sign up throughout the year for one-on-one assistance to start learning about and working on the E-Rate application process.

In this Order, the Federal Communications Commission adopts the final eligible services list for funding year 2025 for the schools and libraries universal service support program (more commonly referred to as the E-Rate program). The FCC also releases the final eligible services list for funding year 2025 and authorize the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to open the annual FCC Form 471 application filing window no earlier than 60 days after the release of this Order.