Over the past five years, 87% of school sites have applied for E-rate Category Two discounts. Access to Wi-Fi is integral to education, and schools and libraries rely on E-rate support to keep their K-12 students and library patrons connected to the Internet.
To insure predictable and on-going access to the Internet, the FCC should renew and improve the E-rate Category Two system. Funds For Learning recommends that the FCC simplify the administration of Category Two funds with a “0-1-2-3” framework:
0. Zero ineligible network infrastructure.
1. A single Category Two budget for each applicant.
2. Double the per student budget factor.
3. Triple the site budget floor.
1. A single Category Two budget for each applicant.
2. Double the per student budget factor.
3. Triple the site budget floor.
More details about this proposal are available here. To hear one applicant’s thoughts on the need to increase the site budget floor, listen to this week’s E-rate Coordinator Spotlight interview with Tony Silver.
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Applicants are asked to share their opinion about the importance of E-rate funding. How important is E-rate support for your school or library? Should the FCC make changes to the Category Two budget system? Schools and libraries can provide their opinion directly to the FCC by taking this survey. (You can learn more about the survey here.)
