In a communication from USAC to the FCC which was released this week, the SLD estimates that $3.92 billion in funding has been requested for the 2010 Funding Year. This represents a drop of 1.8% over last year according to the communication from Mel Blackwell, Vice President of the Schools and Libraries Division of USAC.
Just over $2 Billion (or 52% of the total requested) falls within the Priority One categories of Telecom Services and Internet Access. The remaining 48% of the total requested is for Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance.
Each year, the SLD submits its estimation of demand to the FCC, which provides all parties information about how much funding has been requested in each category. The total amount funded will ultimately be lower, due to a variety of reasons including duplicate requests, applicant cancellations, and SLD reviews.
