USAC has issued 25 FY2026 funding waves. Commitments reached $1.88 billion by mid-September, about 53% of requested dollars, and the pace is running behind FY2025. 

Here’s where things stand, and what it means if you’re still waiting for a decision. 

The Latest Wave: Wave 25 (October 15) 

  • Committed $48.66 million to 483 applicants; $2.35 million denied. 
  • Approved 897 requests, rejected 136. 
  • Average commitment: $100,700 per applicant, across 364 service providers. 
  • Category: Internal Connections $28.97 million (60%), Internet Access $17.39 million, Managed Broadband $1.91 million, Basic Maintenance $0.39 million. 

Wave 25 followed a large Wave 24 ($85.28 million), nearly double its neighbors. Across the last three waves, the mix has shifted toward network equipment. 

Internal Connections has grown from under half of committed dollars to 60%, consistent with late-cycle equipment and Wi-Fi requests clearing review. Rejections are rising as a share of requests, but denied dollars fell from 6% to under 5% of dollars decided, so rejected requests skew smaller. 

How the Year Has Unfolded 

FY2026 started with a very large first wave, then settled into a steady weekly rhythm. 

  • Waves 1-3 (May): Wave 1 committed over $1 billion to 12,977 applicants. Wave 2 added $28.97 million across 676 requests. By May 20, total commitments topped $1.05 billion. 
  • Summer (Waves 7-16): Commitments passed $1.18 billion by June 17, $1.4 billion by July 22, and $1.66 billion by August 19. At mid-year, $2.29 billion of $3.59 billion requested was still pending; about $94 million (2.6%) had been denied. 
  • Early fall (through Wave 20): By September 14, commitments reached $1.88 billion, with 42,221 of 58,705 requests decided. Wave 20 (September 10) carried 859 requests. 
  • Waves 24-25 (October): Wave 24 was the largest recent wave at $85.28 million; Wave 25 followed at $48.66 million. See the table above. 

How FY2026 Compares to FY2025 

  • FY2026 requests reached $3.59 billion, the highest in five years, up from $3.13 billion in FY2025. 
  • As of September 14, 53% of FY2026 dollars were committed, versus 62% at the same point in FY2025. 
  • On September 2, 46% of FY2026 dollars were still pending, covering 5,634 applicants. FY2025 had 37% pending and 3,238 applicants; FY2021-FY2024 typically ran 20-25% with roughly 1,700 applicants waiting. 
  • Wave 20 carried 859 requests, versus 211 at the same point last year. 

If your decision hasn’t arrived yet, you’re in good company; more applicants are in the same position this year than in any of the last five. 

  • Where FY2025 ended up: $2.34 billion committed by November 17, 2025, and $2.45 billion by December 17, after Wave 33 on December 4. A large share of dollars arrives after early fall. 

What to Do Now 

  • File your Form 486 on time. Due 120 days after the date of your FCDL or your service start date. For funding committed on or before July 1, that’s October 29; later waves have later deadlines. 
  • Check each FCDL against your Form 471. You have 60 days from the FCDL date to appeal a denial. 

Want to see where your own applications stand? Request an E-rate Manager demo.

About the Author: Audra Thayer has worked in E-rate for 11 years, finding fulfillment in relieving some of the stress from schools’ and libraries’ overloaded positions by keeping them informed and on task, so they feel supported and assured that all of their E-rate needs are being met. Outside of work, she is a proud wife to a firefighter/EMT and a busy mom of two, Walker and Colbie, and the family loves spending weekends outdoors in Cleveland, TN–whether at a dirt bike race or on their boat on the Hiwassee River.