E-rate News

Home / News

John Harrington, CEMP

by John Harrington

December 4, 2025

What E-rate Applicants Are Telling Us About FY2026 and Why It Matters Right Now

The 2025 E-rate Trends Report offers one of the clearest pictures yet of what schools and libraries are experiencing as they prepare for the next funding cycle. With 1,329 respondents...

John Harrington, CEMP

by John Harrington

December 4, 2025

Why We Do the Trends Report Every Year

For more than a decade, we have published an annual study that captures the voices of school and library leaders across the United States. It is called the E-rate Trends...

by Funds For Learning

December 4, 2025

USAC Releases Cost Projections for First Quarter 2026

On October 31, 2025, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) released their Quarterly Report with projections for the first quarter of 2026. USAC projects a consolidated operating and capital budget...

by Funds For Learning

December 1, 2025

November Appeal Decisions Released by FCC

On December 1, 2025, the FCC issued its monthly Public Notice deciding a number of requests for review, requests for waiver, and petitions for reconsideration related to actions taken by...

John Harrington, CEMP

by John Harrington

November 20, 2025

When Rules Meet the Mission

Leaders live in the tension between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Policies and procedures exist for good reasons. So does judgment. Recently I faced...

John Harrington, CEMP

by John Harrington

November 20, 2025

Broad Support Builds for Modernizing the ESL

Major education and broadband organizations have weighed in on the FCC’s proposed FY2026 Eligible Services List (ESL), calling for clearer guidance on software, managed services, and core network security. Filings...

John Harrington, CEMP

by John Harrington

November 20, 2025

Plan Now: New Category Two Budgets and EPC Updates

USAC has begun preparing for the next Category Two (C2) budget cycle, and applicants should do the same. The November 18 E-Rate News Brief notes that the C2 Budget Tool...

John Harrington, CEMP

by John Harrington

November 13, 2025

Keep Your Cool: The Case for a Calming Presence

Pressure exposes our habits. When the stakes rise, we either steady the room, or spike it. At Funds For Learning we call the steady version a calming presence: keeping perspective,...