As schools and libraries expand their digital infrastructure, understanding how budget requirements scale relative to the number of sites served is critical for both administrators and policymakers. Category Two of the E-rate program (which focuses on internal connections, managed internal broadband services, and basic maintenance of internal connections) provides a framework for funding that varies according to how many physical locations—“sites”—an institution operates. Based on the newly released Category Two budget multipliers, the chart below illustrates the estimated median Category Two budget for FY2026 through FY2030, broken down by the number of sites.
The FY2026–2030 median Category Two budgets, as grouped by number of sites, reveal a clear and steep upward trajectory. For small applicants, Category Two requests may comfortably sit under $200K; for mid-sized applicants, crossing ten sites pushes budgets into the $1M+ range; and for large, multi-site applicants, budgets can run well over $6M.
