FCC announces nearly $55 million in emergency connectivity funding

The Federal Communications Commission today announced it is committing nearly $55 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students in communities across the country. Today’s funding commitment supports applications from the third application window, benefitting approximately 115,000 students nationwide, including students in Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

“As students head back to classrooms in the fall, we need to make sure they have the digital tools to prepare for success in the upcoming school year. That’s why we’re pleased to announce another round of funding to help close the Homework Gap,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

Today’s announcement will support approximately 130 schools and school districts, 12 libraries and library systems, and 4 consortia. The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework, and summertime online learning programs to ensure students across the country have the necessary support to keep up with their education.

Launched in 2021, the Emergency Connectivity Program has provided schools and libraries three different “application windows” to apply for support. Approximately $6.8 billion in funding commitments have been approved to date, approximately $4.14 billion is supporting applications from Window 1; $834 million from Window 2; and $1.84 billion from Window 3. To date, the funding has provided support to approximately 18 million students, 11,050 schools, 1,050 libraries, and 120 consortia, and provided nearly 13 million connected devices and over 8 million broadband connections.

As a long-term solution to the Homework Gap, Chairwoman Rosenworcel recently announced her new initiative “Learn Without Limits” to modernize the E-Rate program to allow for Wi-Fi on school buses and for permanent support to loan out Wi-Fi hotspots.

CT Bureau