E-Rate Program Overview?

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Education Rate, more commonly known as E-Rate, was established by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and began monetary distribution in 1998. E-Rate is overseen by the FCC and is administered by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC).

The E-Rate program was established to aid Schools and Libraries in obtaining affordable Telecommunication and Internet Services by offering a discount on these services. Funding may be requested in four separate categories of service: Telecommunications, Internet Access, Internal Connections, and Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections. The discount percentage for the applicant is based on poverty and location of the population served by the school or library and ranges from 20% (no students eligible for free and reduced lunch) to 90% (over 75% of your student population eligible for free and reduced lunch). For more details on E-Rate discounts please see the USAC Discount Matrix [Read More].

In order to be eligible to receive E-Rate discounts, schools and libraries must meet certain eligibility criteria. In general, elementary schools, secondary schools, private schools and religious schools are eligible to receive discounts. Public Libraries and library systems are also eligible to receive discounts as long as they meet the eligibility requirements for libraries.

Eligible services of the E-Rate program are broken down into two categories, Priority 1 and Priority 2. Priority 1 services are all Telecommunications services and Internet Access. Priority 2 services are Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections.

The discount percentage for the applicant is based on poverty and location of the population served by the school or library and ranges from 20% (no students eligible for free and reduced lunch) to 90% (over 75% of your student population eligible for free and reduced lunch). For more details on E-Rate discounts please see the USAC Discount Matrix.

Eligible E-Rate Services Include:

* This is a short list of some of the services that are eligible under priority 1 and priority 2 services. This does not constitute a full list nor does the inclusion on the above list guarantee approval. For the full list, and all changes, please see the Eligible Services List.