E-Rate Discounts Available
The program covers equipment and services in specific categories (and subcategories).
Category 1
Category 1 funding does not have a cap, but is limited to products in only these two subcategories.
Data Transmission
The transport circuits that connect your library to your automated network or your internet service provider, including: cable from Comcast, Verizon FIOS, DSL, satellite, fiber from the MassBroadband 123 or OpenCape networks. E-rate considers these circuits to be separable from full-blown internet service.
The cost of the data transmission alone does not trigger the need for CIPA compliance. It is only when combined with internet service that CIPA kicks in.
Internet
Connectivity to the web and all the services that you and your library customers use daily. Internet service should not be confused with data transmission. E-rate discounts for internet requires CIPA compliance.
Category 2
Category 2 funding is allocated over a five year period, and each library building has a budget calculated based upon its square footage. Funding Year 2026 is the first year of a new five year cycle, and the minimum budget regardless of size for this cycle will be $30,175. Libraries larger than 5,558 sq ft will receive additional money.
Internal Connections
Eligible equipment (such as routers, switches, wireless access points, and cabling) considered necessary to transport or distribute broadband within one or more instructional buildings of a single school campus or within one or more non-administrative buildings that comprise a single library branch.
Managed Internal Broadband Services
Services provided by a third party for the operation, management, and monitoring of internal connections components. E-Rate support is limited to eligible expenses or portions of expenses that directly support and are necessary for broadband connectivity within schools and libraries.
Basic Maintenance of Internet Connections
Services covering the repair and upkeep of eligible equipment inside a school or library.
Fiber Installation
This is rare in Massachusetts! And complicated. You can receive E-rate discounts for pulling a fiber connection to your building, lighting up unused fiber, or simply paying for the use of already lit fiber.
Please contact the state e-rate coordinator, Kate Butler if you are contemplating a fiber project.
No Discounts
User equipment --computers, laptops and tablets-- are not eligible for discounts.
Eligibility
Public and School (K-12) libraries are eligible for E-Rate. Schools are eligible as a whole, and typically the application is done at the district or building level rather than just by the library. Public Libraries may apply as an individual entity (or system, if there are branches) or their library network may apply on behalf of many libraries at once.
Some other types of libraries may also be eligible, if they provide access to the public and are not part of a college or university.
Tribal Libraries and Schools are also eligible.