On January 27, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission released a Report and Order which permanently eliminates the E-rate program’s requirement that upfront non-recurring Category One charges in excess of $500,000 be amortized over three or more Funding Years.
The amortization requirement had been temporarily suspended in the FCC’s Second E-rate Modernization Report and Order, and the Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in January 2019 which proposed eliminating the requirement entirely. A number of stakeholders supported the proposal:
- FFL Supports FCC's Amortization Proposal
- States Want Amortization Req’s Removed
- Stakeholders Support FCC’s Proposal
In the Report and Order, the FCC recognized that “reinstating the amortization requirement would likely chill deployment of broadband infrastructure and hinder the Commission’s goal of closing the digital divide.” In a separate statement, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel supported the change, stating that “eliminating an antiquated accounting policy…is the right call.”
