E-rate and Broadband News October 2023
This newsletter covers two important topics: 1) what to do during the annual E-rate administrative window, and 2) the FCC’s recent developments to add “Wi-Fi on Buses” to E-rate.
The FCC has not yet made any decisions about what specific hardware/services are eligible, how it will be worked into the program, or what will be required of applicants to receive funding. See below for more information.
Admin Window Open — Update Entity Details Now
The E-rate Administrative Window is now open through the end of December 2023. This is the only time of the year E-rate users can update their own data profiles, including:
Update your enrollment and discount calculation data
Schools are expected to update each year. See below for more.
Add / remove school buildings or non-instructional facilities that are eligible to receive E-rate hardware/services
Other administrative changes as needed
Update Discount Data, Confirm Funding Discount Percentage
A school’s discount percentage is validated every year. It is calculated by taking A) the number of students eligible for free/reduced lunch (FRL) in the district, and dividing it by B) the total number of enrolled students in the district, then referring to the E-rate discount matrix: https://www.usac.org/wp-content/uploads/e-rate/documents/samples/Discount-Matrix.pdf
If your FRL data is…
NSLP or a type of survey:
Our guidance is to use the data submitted in the most recent March ISEE report. This is what we rely on first when E-rate asks us (State Board of Education) to validate data.
CEP or Provision II
Use the data that is consistent with your CEP base year. E-rate does recognize Grace Years.
Multiply by Base Year eligible FRL students by 1.6, then divide by total enrolled.
These updates annual discount validations are important for schools because they also affect their nearest library system (if such library is participating in E-rate).
“Wi-Fi on Buses” is Entering the Public Comment Phase
On Thursday, October 19th the FCC held an open meeting and passed a “Declaratory Ruling” allowing them to A) clarify they have the legal authority to fund Wi-Fi on buses as an eligible part of E-rate, and B) voted to soon publish a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” and invite public comment on how to implement the program.
“In this Declaratory Ruling, we clarify that the use of Wi-Fi, or other similar access point technologies, on school buses serves an educational purpose and, therefore, the service and equipment that enable it are eligible for E-Rate funding.
The Eligible Services List for Funding Year 2024 will be modified to include some of these hardware and services but is first taking public comment on how to do so (deadline Nov 24, 2023). Click here to read the full notice.
If you have ideas or suggestions in response to their questions, please send them to broadband@edu.idaho.gov to discuss and help shape these new policies going forward. Some of the major questions include…
Based on our experience with the Emergency Connectivity Fund program, we expect applicants will seek E-Rate support for wireless mobile broadband service. We, therefore, propose to modify the Eligible Service List’s Wireless bullet to explicitly cover mobile broadband connectivity for school buses and propose to modify the language to: “Wireless (e.g., fixed wireless, microwave, or mobile).”
We also seek comment on what equipment would be needed to provide Wi-Fi on school buses and whether this equipment should be eligible as a Category One or Category Two service. For example, should antennas, routers, modems, and other similar equipment, installed on the school bus be eligible as Category One Network Equipment if this equipment is necessary to make the Category One mobile broadband service functional? If cabling is needed, should this be eligible as a Category Two service?
Are there additional equipment and/or services that should be eligible for support to provide Wi-Fi on school buses, and if so, under which category of service?
How can we ensure that [Wi-Fi on buses] is only provided primarily for educational purposes consistent with E-Rate rules?
To the extent schools are already limiting access to student and school staff users, we seek comment on the type of measures being implemented and any other concerns raised by the use of such measures.