Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commits Over $421 Million in Additional Funding Through Emergency Connectivity Fund Program

From the Federal Communications Commission:

The Federal Communications Commission today announced that it will commit over $421 million in the latest round of Emergency Connectivity Fund announcements, bringing total program commitments to over $3.05 billion. The funding  is supporting schools and libraries in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands,  and the District of Columbia. The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as  nightly homework and virtual learning, as schools and libraries continue to respond to the  ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Far too many students lack the connections they need to get online and stay connected to their teachers. Thankfully, Congress gave us the tools through this program to make a real difference in our communities as we work to close the Homework Gap and help schools and libraries  engage in online learning,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

The program to date has committed to supporting 6,954 schools, 613 libraries, and 80 consortia, which are approved to receive over 6.8 million connected devices and over 3.5 million broadband connections. With these additional commitments, the Commission has met  its goal of responding to 70 percent of all applications within 100 days of the closing of the first filing window.

More details about which schools and libraries will receive funding can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/ecf-current-funding-commitments.

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Filed under: Funding, Libraries, News