To date, the emergency funding has provided 5,420,473 devices and 2,700,834 broadband connections, impacting nearly 8 million students
In its recently approved second wave of emergency connectivity funding, the Federal Communications Commission is committing $1,159,681,350.34 for 2,471 schools, 205 libraries and 26 consortia. All those awarded had applied for support from the larger $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which required students and educators to transition to remote learning.
Remote learning, of course, requires not only reliable broadband connectivity, but also certain digital tools and devices like laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems and routers. To date, the Commission has committed $2,362,788,847.22 in funding to school and library applicants and exceeded its goal of responding to 50% of all applications within 60 days of the closing of the first filing window.
The funding so far equates to support for 5,420,473 devices and 2,700,834 broadband connections for 5,474 schools, 461 libraries and 49 consortia of schools and libraries, impacting nearly 8 million students across the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.
Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the latest round of funding will work to close “the Homework Gap” by connecting “even more students and library patrons with new tools for online learning and communicating.”
“We are providing resources for schools and libraries across the country,” she continued, “from tiny communities in Delta Junction, Alaska supporting Delta Community Library, to large school districts like New York City. Together with the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, the Commission is investing more than $10 billion to support America’s critical broadband needs.”
