Libraries

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Rosenworcel sent letters to four House members on April 7, 2022, to respond to their letter on proposed changes to the E-rate competitive bidding process. Rosenworcel said the FCC has begun a rulemaking to consider improvements to the competitive bidding process. She also said funding has been made available to support students’ off-campus learning needs through the Emergency Connectivity Fund and the Emergency Broadband Benefit programs.

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition published its 2022 Policy Roadmap, outlining the 10 policy priorities that shape its advocacy in 2022. In brief, the SHLB Coalition will focus on the following policy priorities in 2022: 

To receive E-Rate support, applicants must follow specific procedures established by the Federal Communications Commission and use an online portal called EPC. Applicants use the EPC system to notify vendors of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), report the results of their local competitive bidding process, and submit funding requests to USAC, the E‐rate program administrator. The purpose of this white paper is to provide data and applicant feedback about the performance of the current system.

Tucson Connected, a public-private partnership in Arizona, aims to link the digital inclusion efforts of several entities in a unified effort to reach residents. The project, which launched in the fall of 2021, is meant to unify a number of entities with a stake in increasing regional digital equity and address the barriers impeding Internet adoption. The coalition’s primary focus will be identifying barriers and connecting stakeholders to available subsidies.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is opening a third application filing window to award at least $1 billion in Emergency Connectivity Fund support. The third application filing window will open on April 28, 2022 and close on May 13, 2022. During this third application filing window, eligible schools and libraries can submit requests for funding to purchase eligible equipment and services between July 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023.

The American Library Association released its new report "Keeping Communities Connected: Library Broadband Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic." Key takeaways include:

The Federal Communications Commission is committing over $86 million in the 10th wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support. Since its June 2021 launch, the program has committed over $4.62 billion supporting all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the District of Columbia.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is committing $125,962,023.72 in its ninth wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support. This round of funding will support over 270,000 students and provide funding for 340 schools, 20 libraries and 6 consortia, which are approved to receive over 330,000 connected devices and over 39,000 broadband connections. Since its June 2021 launch, the program has committed over $4.5 billion supporting all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Washington (DC).

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is partnering with the Institute of Museum and Library Services to expand broadband connectivity to Tribal libraries. The agencies will team up to raise awareness about the E-Rate program among Tribal libraries and organizations, which can use program funds to increase broadband access to serve their communities. To kick off this partnership, the agencies recently reached out to all 574 Tribal leaders to provide information about the E-Rate program and opportunities for Tribal libraries to participate.

Mayor Michelle Wu (D-MA) and Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) announced an investment of over $12 million to bring digital equity and inclusion to nearly 23,000 Boston (MA) public housing residents, library users, and school-age families. This new funding provides free access to wireless broadband service and devices to help public housing seniors and residents get online, and will also provide Chromebooks to Boston Public Schools (BPS) students.