E-Rate for FY 2026 – Application Window:

Application Window: The Form 471 application window for FY 2026 opened Wednesday, January 21st, and will close on Wednesday, April 1st, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.  The administrative window, which gave applicants the opportunity to update their EPC entity profiles, closed January 16th.  Any subsequent entity changes during the window period will have to be made as a RAL correction or updated during application review.

E-Rate for FY 2025:

USAC issued Wave 42 for FY 2025 on Thursday, February 19th, for $3.43 million.  Total funding for FY 2025 is now $2.56 billion.  Currently, USAC has funded 95.2% of submitted applications, representing 87.0% of the dollars requested.

Cybersecurity Pilot Program:

USAC has indicated that it expects to issue Cyber funding waves monthly with the next wave expected in March.  Current Cyber funding, after two waves, is $28.8 million. 

Upcoming Dates:

FCC Currently Operating Normally Under Latest Government Shutdown:

The latest government shutdown is adversely affecting agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (e.g., FEMA, Coast Guard, CISA, etc.), accounting for an estimated 13% of the total federal civilian workforce.  The FCC is not currently affected and appears well prepared should the shutdown continue by using existing carryover funding.  However, should those funds run out, they recently updated their Plan for Orderly Shutdown.

Recent FCC Appeal Denial Warns of Excessive Procurement Practices:

Earlier this month, the FCC denied a Review and/or Waiver request filed by Child Development Resources of Ventura County, Inc. seeking to overturn a USAC invoice denial for expensive and unused hotspots.  Although the funding had initially been approved under the Emergency Connectivity Fund (“ECF”) program, the decision (DA 26-138) serves as a warning to E-Rate applicants that excessive purchases at above market prices will not be tolerated.  The applicant in this case had ordered over 1,500 hotspots eligible under the ECF program, none of which had been used.  Worse still, the FCC found that:

1. The applicant could not explain the reasonableness of the $249.99 per unit cost during a time period where the average cost was found to be $107.80 per hotspot and, in one case, listed at an MSRP of $90.00; and
2. The applicant failed to provide evidence of an unmet need but, rather, appeared to be procuring hotspots as part of a 1:1 device initiative, which was not supported by the ECF program.  (They requested 1,502 Wi-Fi hotspots for 1,294 enrolled pre-kindergarten students and 208 staff.)

Every so often, it is worth seeing a vivid example of how programs like E-Rate — ECF in this case — are not meant to be used.

USAC’s E-Rate News Brief dated February 19, 2026 covers the following topics:

• The E-Rate Tips section covers:
  • March 4th is the last day to post a Form 470 for FY 2026 applications.
  • USAC fixes BMIC-only Form 470 citation on Form 471.
  • Application assistance for Tribal libraries.
  • IMPORTANT: SAM.gov requirement for invoicing beginning in August (see also our newsletter of February 16th).
  • Treatment of unresponsive bids, “SPAM” bids and “Robobids.”
  • Updated security for E-Rate Open Data connections.
• Upcoming February 25th invoicing deadline for FY 2024 recurring services.
• Reminder for FY 2026 Form 471 Filings:
  • Wait for the minimum 28-day Form 470 posting period before selecting vendors and filing a Form 471.
  • Make sure you have EPC access rights to be able to work on a Form 471.
  • Start your Form 471, even if you are not ready to provide all the funding request details.
  • Create a contract record for each new contract or legally binding agreement.
  • Do not wait until the end of the application filing window to contact USAC with questions or issues.
• The interim SPIN (143666666) will become available for Form 471 use on March 18, 2026.
• Use the RAL Modification Request to update or correct information on Form 471s that have already been filed.
• Upcoming E-Rate Outreach and Training:
  • March 26th – Program Integrity Assurance (“PIA”) Review Process webinar (register).
  • March 31st – Service Provider webinar (register).
  • In-Person Fall E-Rate Training (registration dates TBD):
    • Phoenix – September 15, 2026
    • Washington, DC – September 24, 2026