What's the E-Rate

The Education Rate (E-rate) is the result of a regulatory decision made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on May 7, 1997 to implement the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

The FCC decision means that starting in January 1998, K-12 schools and libraries were eligible for up to $2.25 billion a year in discounts for a wide range of telecommunications services.

These discounts help K-12 schools and libraries throughout the United States establish high-quality connections to the Internet. The discounts range from 20 to 90 percent on all eligible telecommunications services, Internet access and internal connections.

Schools will receive the savings through discounts from telecommunications services and hardware providers.