About E-Rate

In 1996, in an effort to insure Internet access to all of America’s children, Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide Internet access to all public and nonprofit schools and libraries. The Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) was created to administer this program, now known as 'E-Rate'. E-Rate is funded through a Universal Service fee charged to telecommunications companies that provide interstate and/or international telecommunications services.

Each funding year, $2.25 billion dollars is available in the form of discounts to schools and libraries to fund four categories of service: telecommunications services, internet access, internal connections, and basic maintenance of internal connections. Eligible discount amounts are determined by the level of poverty and the urban/rural status of the population served and range from 20% to 90% of the costs for eligible services. Service providers competitively bid for contracts covering those categories of service.

The eligible schools and libraries are required to provide additional resources including end-user equipment (e.g., computers, telephones, etc.), software, professional development, and the other elements that are necessary to utilize the connectivity funded by the E-rate program.

For more information on the E-rate program, click here: http://www.usac.org/sl/