E-rate services

E-Rate is the popular name for the Universal Service Fund for Schools and Libraries, which provides all public and private schools and public libraries access to affordable telecommunications and advanced technologies. If your school is not currently taking advantage of the many eligible services and products, you should be!

ETC can help you receive these discounts. As long-time E-rate approved vendors, we can help you take advantage of the generous discounts while receiving state-of-the-art technology.

How can E-rate help you?

E-Rate means that the rate schools and libraries pay for telecommunications services and Internet access is discounted, based on the number of students eligible for the National Free Lunch Program. Schools and libraries in low-income urban communities and rural areas qualify for the highest discounts.

Eligible services include:

• Telecommunications services (local, long-distance, and wireless)
• Internet access
• Internal connections (eligible networking hardware, network wiring, and related maintenance)

E-rate services have expanded

In its first three funding years, the E-Rate program granted awards to all telecom and Internet access applicants that met the eligibility criteria. Awards for internal connections (i.e., wiring and hardware) were only granted to the most needy applicants in Funding Years One and Three; Funding Year Two granted all eligible internal connections. Now, schools with free and reduced lunches in excess of 50% of the student population are eligible to be funded from 70% to 90% of the invoiced amount for transport services including voice, data, and video, including Centrex service; regular telephone lines; high-speed networks; Internet access; Wide Area Network (if leased from a common carrier); and internal connections. Telephone sets and most video equipment are not eligible. ETC provides all eligible E-rate services except long-distance, cellular, and local phone services. For a complete list of eligible products, please visit the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) website.

Who is eligible for E-rate discounts?

• Elementary and secondary public schools
• Non-profit elementary and secondary parochial and private schools (with endowments under $50 million)
• Public libraries
• Many private, non-profit libraries accessible to the public

Contact ETC today to find out how you can best take advantage of E-rate discounts!