Last week, the FCC announced an initial wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund Program funding commitments totaling over $1.2 billion. The approved commitments account for approximately 20% of the total amount requested during the initial application filing window and will fund 3,663 applications from 3,040 schools, 260 libraries, and 24 consortia across all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. The FCC will continue to review applications and will be making additional commitments on a rolling basis in the coming weeks.
A second application filing window will open on September 28, 2021, and close on October 13, 2021. During this window, applicants will be able to submit requests for funding for purchases made between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 to meet the needs of students, school staff, and library patrons who would otherwise lack access to basic educational opportunities and library services.
For those interested in learning more about the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program ahead of the second application filing window, please visit www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org and don’t forget to sign up for ECF Program emails. The Commission will also continue to update its Frequently Asked Questions about the Program.
Additional information about the applications filed in the first application filing window is available on the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) Open Data platform and can be found at ECF FCC Form 471 dataset. This dataset contains detailed information from applications filed in the first application filing window, which ran from June 29, 2021 to August 13, 2021, including applicant details, requested funds, individual product or service details, and funding commitment information. For additional ECF open data resources, please visit https://www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org/open-data/.