INDIANA – The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it is opening a third application filing window to award at least $1 billion in Emergency Connectivity Fund support. The third application filing window will open on April 28 and close on May 13.
During this third application filing window, eligible schools and libraries can submit requests for funding to purchase eligible equipment and services between July 1 of this year and December 31, 2023. Given past demand, the third application filing window will likely be the last opportunity for schools and libraries to request funding before the remaining Emergency Connectivity Funds are exhausted.
“I’m excited to announce we are opening a new opportunity for schools and libraries to apply for funding in the upcoming school year through the Emergency Connectivity Fund,” said chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “We also are providing the 12th round of funding for schools and libraries for this school year, supporting another 200,000 students with devices and broadband connections. This program has done so much already and I look forward to seeing more students get the help they need for next year. Today is a great day for making progress in closing the homework gap.”
The 18-month funding window will allow applicants to reap the full benefit of existing Emergency Connectivity Fund support, which 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 have funded over 10 million connected devices and 5 million broadband connections. Since its June 2021 launch, the program has connected over 12.5 million students with broadband connections and equipment. The most recent funding round committed nearly $68 million to support over 140 schools and 25 libraries across the country, including for students in Alaska, Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon and Puerto Rico.
The announcement includes $49 million in commitments from Windows 1 applications and $19 million in commitments from Window 2 applications. More details about which schools and libraries have received funding commitments – in addition to more information about the third round of funding – can be found here.
Applicants who previously filed and obtained approval for ECF funding in Windows 1 and 2 will need to explain that their new requests in Windows 3 are not duplicative of Windows 1 and 2 funding.
