In Funding Year 2015, applicants were subject to E-rate funding caps for the first time in program history. An analysis of FY2015 requests shows that just over 6% of applicant sites requested the full five-year cap amount, while almost 70% of eligible sites requested no Category 2 funds.
In total, approximately $1.6 billion was requested in the form of discounts on Category 2 products and services. Over $950 million of that amount was requested for applicant sites which “maxed out” the Category 2 budget available. Category 2 funds were requested (in some capacity) for approximately 30% of applicant sites in total, leaving a majority of sites with no Category 2 budget utilization in FY2015:
