The FCC is committing nearly $603 million in its latest wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support, which will connect over 1.4 million students in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. These additional commitments bring the current total commitments to over $3.8 billion, supporting students, school staff, and library patrons in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework and virtual learning, as schools and libraries continue to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“As students and educators around the country enjoy time with their families before tackling the second half of the school year, the FCC continues to provide support to ensure they have the connectivity they need when they return,” said FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel. The announcement, she said, “will help an additional million children get the internet access and technology needed for success in today’s virtual and hybrid classrooms.”
This is the sixth wave of commitments and includes over $367 million in commitments from Window 1 applications and nearly $236 million in commitments from Window 2 applications. This round of pledges will support 1,651 schools, 85 libraries, and 14 consortia, which are approved to receive nearly 1.2 million connected devices and over 790,000 broadband connections. Total commitments to-date are supporting 9,000 schools and 760 libraries for nearly 8.3 million connected devices and over 4.4 million broadband connections, according to the FCC.
Find details about which schools and libraries have received funding commitments here.
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