Issued: 05/06/2016
Pursuant to section 54.507(a) of the Commission's rules, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announces that the E-rate program funding cap for funding year 2016 is $3,939,000,000. This figure is based on changes the Commission made in the Second E-rate Modernization Order to ensure sufficient funding is available to meet E-rate program goals and connectivity targets. In that order, the Commission adjusted the E-rate cap to $3.9 billion and continued to require that the funding cap reflect any annual inflationary changes. The new cap represents a 1 percent inflation-adjusted increase in the $3.9 billion cap from funding year 2015. The Commission began indexing the funding cap to inflation in 2010 to ensure that E-rate program funding keeps pace with the changing broadband and telecommunications needs of schools and libraries.