E-rate News

by Funds For Learning

Funds For Learning Submits Comments on USAC Reform — Here’s What We Said, and What Others Are Saying

For the first time in nearly two decades, the FCC opened a wide-ranging review of how USAC operates. The April 15 Public Notice invited comment on six topic areas spanning the full...

by Funds For Learning

FCC Opens Investigation Into Potential E-Rate Misuse in Minnesota

On May 15, 2026, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the Commission has sent three Letters of Inquiry to educational institutions in Minnesota as part of an investigation into potential misuse of...

by Christopher Odom

Funding Year 2026 Wave 2 Is Out. What To Do If You Weren’t Funded.

Wave 2 of Funding Year 2026 landed on May 7, 2026. If your funding decision wasn’t in it, here’s what that does and doesn’t mean, and what to do while...

Verlyne Jolley, CEMP

by Verlyne Jolley

FCC Confirms Full Funding for Every Eligible FY2026 E-rate Request

Good news for FY2026 applicants. On May 11, 2026, the FCC announced that USAC will fully fund all eligible Category One and Category Two E-rate requests for funding year 2026....

by Funds For Learning

FCC Wireline Competition Bureau Issues May 2026 Streamlined Appeal Decisions

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau released its latest batch of streamlined E-rate appeal and waiver decisions on May 1, 2026. (DOC-421391A1.pdf ) Decision Summary More than 200 schools and libraries nearly lost...

Verlyne Jolley, CEMP

by Verlyne Jolley

Beyond the Bidding Portal: The FCC’s April Order Also Made Life Easier in Several Important Ways

The FCC’s April 30 order got most of its attention for the new competitive bidding portal. We’ll cover that in depth in future issues. But the same order included six other changes...

by Funds For Learning

Wave 1 Funds More Than 60% of FY2026 Applicants — $1 Billion Committed

Wave 1 by the numbers On May 1, 2026, USAC released the first wave of FY2026 E-rate funding commitments. 12,977 applicants — more than 60% of those who filed —...

by Funds For Learning

FCC Approves Bidding Portal for Funding Year 2028. Your Funding Year 2027 Filings Are Unchanged.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-0 today to adopt the Report and Order on the competitive bidding portal for the E-rate program. The Order was adopted with Commissioner Gomez approving...