E-Rate Program

What It Means

The E-Rate program (formally the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund) is a $2.5 billion annual federal program administered by the FCC and USAC that subsidizes internet access, internal network infrastructure, and voice services for public and private K-12 schools and public libraries. Created by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, E-Rate provides discounts of 20 to 90% on eligible services, with higher discount rates going to schools and libraries with more low-income students (measured by National School Lunch Program participation). Since its inception, E-Rate has funded over $60 billion in telecommunications and internet services, and the program is credited with moving U.S. school internet availability from roughly 14% of classrooms in 1996 to over 99% by 2020. The FCC's 2014 E-Rate Modernization Order refocused the program on Wi-Fi deployment inside schools, transitioning away from legacy voice services. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FCC launched the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) in 2021 to extend E-Rate support to off-campus internet for students, which ended in June 2023. A 2024 FCC order added Wi-Fi hotspot lending to the E-Rate eligible services list, allowing schools and libraries to lend hotspots for off-campus educational use. E-Rate does not directly affect residential Broadband Grade scoring but is important for understanding the broader broadband access ecosystem, particularly in low-income and rural communities where school Wi-Fi access can be a household's primary connectivity.

Frequently Asked Questions