If you rely on a multi-year contract for your internet or wide-area network services, that agreement gave you years of more affordable connectivity. It also means your needs have probably changed since you signed it. When a contract approaches expiration, the worst time to figure out what you actually need is the moment bidding begins.
If you’re also closing out FY2025 and putting FY2026 into place, you’re working three funding years at once right now. Our companion piece, Happy New Year! FY2026 Has Started, shows how all three fit together. This article zooms in on the one that pays off most to start early: FY2027.
Plan early and you get clarity
Planning before the procurement cycle starts gives you clarity. You get time to define what your district or library truly needs now, not what it needed years ago, and time to communicate those needs clearly to potential bidders while staying inside E-rate’s competitive bidding rules.
Start by building a plan and timeline for your network equipment and service purchases across the rest of your Category Two budget cycle. You do not have to buy everything in one year or install it all at once. Sequencing your purchases lets you stretch your E-rate funding further, and it eases the load on the procurement and technology teams who have to carry the work. A plan that spreads out the effort makes the whole process easier for everyone involved.
Don’t let local rules trip you up
Then get familiar with your state and local procurement requirements, because E-rate does not replace them. This is a tricky step, and it’s easy to get off-track here. Starting late generally comes at a cost. Unexpected roadblocks can derail your plans, cost you funding, and eat up the time you spend trying to catch up. A misstep with local rules can stay hidden until well after you have received a funding commitment and disbursement, and discovering it after the discount lands is a costly place to be. At the same time, local rules do not let you set aside E-rate requirements. You have to satisfy both.
What the applicants who get it right do differently
The applicants who handle this well are the ones who understand, long before bidding begins, how E-rate and local rules will shape the process together. That understanding is what lets you write a solicitation that sets clear expectations for bidders, instead of scrambling to reconcile two sets of rules under deadline pressure.
FY2027 feels far away. The planning that makes it go smoothly does not.
Planning your FY2027 procurement? Register for the July 9 My E-rate Guides (MEG) webinar. We’ll cover what’s ahead for the next filing window, including how to get your bidding and budget planning started early. Reserve your spot today.
About the Author: Micah has been with Funds For Learning for 18 years and is based in Edmond, Oklahoma. One “unusual” fact about Micah is that he holds kung-fu to be the best genre of musical cinema.
