The Schools and Libraries Division announced Aug 3 that on Tuesday, Aug. 7, it will release another $207 million worth of funding commitments for the E-rate program's fourth year. The SLD made no change in its position on whether it will be able to fund internal connections in the latest wave, telling applicants with discount rates of 84 percent or below that they will not be able to qualify for internal connections support this year.
Although program changes prevented the SLD from issuing funding commitments this year as early as it had in previous years, it has been able to distribute more money in its first two rounds than it has before. In the first two waves, it has committed more than 26 percent of the amount it will be able to commit for the current funding year. It is also possible that the Federal Communications Commission will decide to roll over some unspent money from Year 2.
