FCC Commits Nearly $126 Million in Emergency Connectivity Funds for Schools & Libraries & Announces Cross-Agency Task Force to Prevent Digital Discrimination

From the Federal Communications Commission:

The Federal Communications Commission today announced that it is committing $125,962,023.72 in its ninth wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support. This round of funding will support over 270,000 students and provide
funding for 340 schools, 20 libraries and 6 consortia, which are approved to receive over 30,000 connected devices and over 39,000 broadband connections. Since its June 2021 launch, the program has committed over $4.5 billion supporting all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the District of Columbia.

“Today’s announcement will bring more connectivity to students and libraries in our communities, helping to close the Homework Gap and support library patrons who lack internet access,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “The Emergency Connectivity Fund is making billions of dollars in investments in our schools and libraries to support success in the
digital age, no matter who you are, or where you live.”

The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework, to ensure students across the country have the necessary support to keep up with their education. Total commitments to date are supporting over 10,800 schools, 875 libraries, and 125 consortia for nearly 9.9 million connected devices and over 4.9 million broadband connections. Today’s
announcement includes nearly $27 million in commitments from Window 1 applications and over $99 million in commitments from Window 2 applications.

More details about which schools and libraries have received funding commitments can be accessed here.

In Other FCC News Today…

•  Chairwoman Rosenworcel Announces Cross-Agency Task Force to Prevent Digital Discrimination (via FCC)

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