FCC Boosts Funding For E-Rate Program

摘要

The FCC has voted 3-2 to adopt what it called the "next step" in modernizing the E-rate program, increasing funding by $1.5 billion a year and making other changes in an effort to promote high-speed broadband in schools and libraries, particularly those in rural and low-income areas. Presenting the item at the meeting, Bryan Boyle, an attorney-adviser in the Wireline Competition Bureau, said the order "provides additional flexibility for schools and libraries seeking to purchase affordable, high-speed broadband connections," specifically by giving them more options to pay for nonrecurring construction costs. The item also suspends the multiyear amortization policy and allows applicants to pay the nondiscount portion of nonrecurring construction costs of multiple years, Mr. Boyle said.