For many applicants, the most significant shift in recent years is not bandwidth. It is security.
Connectivity used to mean circuits and access points. Increasingly, it also means monitoring, filtering, intrusion detection, and redundancy. Security is no longer viewed as a separate initiative. It is part of keeping the network operational.
What the 2025 Data Shows
In the 2025 E-rate Trends Report, strong majorities of applicants express support for expanding eligibility to include security-related goods and services. Respondents frequently describe cybersecurity as a growing line item in their budgets.
Importantly, this feedback is not framed as dissatisfaction with E-rate’s core mission. Rather, it reflects a broadened understanding of what modern connectivity requires.
From the Data
Large majorities of applicants indicate support for expanding eligibility to include security-related services, reflecting the view that network protection is integral to connectivity.
Why This Matters in 2026
Schools and libraries are increasingly dependent on cloud-based systems for instruction, operations, and communication. That dependence introduces exposure.
Applicants are navigating:
- Increased phishing and ransomware attempts
- More devices connecting from more locations
- Greater scrutiny of data privacy and compliance
In this context, network stability and network security are intertwined. Downtime caused by an outage and downtime caused by a security event have similar consequences.
Evolving Definitions of “Basic Connectivity”
The E-rate program was designed to ensure affordable access to broadband. That core mission remains unchanged.
What has evolved is how applicants define the infrastructure necessary to sustain that access. Many now see security tools, management services, and redundancy as foundational components of a functioning network.
This evolution does not signal mission drift. It reflects how networks are built and maintained in 2026.
The full 2025 E-rate Trends Report documents this shift across ten years of applicant feedback and places it within the broader context of E-rate’s goals and funding structure.
