For the first time in many years, the FCC has announced that it anticipates being able to fund all E-rate funding requests. Last Friday, the FCC issued a Public Notice that states that the estimated demand for Category 1 services for the upcoming funding year is $2.255 billion, and that it will be able to fully fund these requests without dipping into any of the $1.575 billion in funds that had been carried forward from prior years. The estimated demand for Category 2 in the 2015-2016 funding year is $1.665 billion. The Public Notice directs USAC to fund these requests by first utilizing carry-over funds, and then taking any additional funds from the current funds, which is subject to the new $3.9 billion cap. The upshot is that for this year at least, all funding requests could have been met even without the availability of carry over funds, although the “target budget” of $1 billion set forth in the FCC’s December 2014 order was significantly exceeded.
