Category 2 E-Rate funding is allocated on a 5-year budget cycle. The current five-year E-Rate budget cycle began in 2021 and will end with the 2025/2026 E-Rate funding year (2021-2025).
E-Rate is broken down into two Categories of services. Category 1 is internet access, WAN connections, bus wi-fi, and wi-fi hotspots. Category 2 is network equipment, basic maintenance of network equipment, and Managed Internal Broadband Services (MIBS). While Category 1 has no budget, Category 2 has a budget of $167 per student for schools and $4.50 per square foot for libraries.
The current five-year Category 2 budget cycle went into effect for the 2021 E-Rate year (July 1, 2021- June 30, 2022) and has been in effect for the last 4 years. This coming E-Rate year, which will run from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 will be the final year of the current five-year budget cycle. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to review your Category 2 budgets and get an accurate determination of how much Category 2 funding you have remaining. Once you know this, you can start planning your 2025/2026 E-Rate application.
After the 2025/2026 E-Rate funding year, any unused Category 2 funding will no longer be available to the applicants and it will roll back into the E-Rate system. This is a use it or lose it year, which is why it is so important to know where you stand. If the Category 2 funding structure stays the same moving forward, all Category 2 budgets will reset starting with the 2026/2027 E-Rate year for another 5-year cycle.
If you have any questions on the E-Rate budget cycles, please feel free to contact us or email us at info@erateadvantage.com.
