NEWS: Deadline extended to comment on Fed $ for hotspots

Good news to all procrastinators and December email avoiders! The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has given us one more week to draft and submit comments on their recent proposal to make wifi hotspots eligible for E-Rate support. Submit comments here.

The new deadline is Jan. 16, 2024.

In case you missed it, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in November regarding wifi hotspot lending in libraries. They proposed that once Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) support for hotspots lapses, schools and libraries should have the option to apply for continued support for the ongoing cost of service to those devices with regular E-Rate funds. Like with E-Rate support for other services, this would likely provide a discount as a percent of the overall cost based on Free and Reduced School Lunch Program eligibility in the library’s legal service area.

This is a big deal!

Libraries cite cost as a leading concern as for why they do not have a hotspot lending program. Perhaps even more frustratingly, many libraries use grant funds to launch hotspot programs and then discover that the ongoing costs are unsustainable for their local budget, and they are forced to downsize or shutter a well-used resource. E-Rate has the benefit of being a (relatively) stable mechanism to support libraries in offering high quality internet to their patrons, and it has been since the 90s. Including hotspots as an eligible use of E-Rate funds is a logical update for the 21st century: it just makes sense.

So what’s next?

This notice means the FCC is considering all sides of the question before developing program rules which will determine things like eligible costs, allowable uses, and limits on funding. Submitting a comment is well-worth your time. It can take as little as five minutes to ensure your voice is heard in this crucial update to the only federal-based support for basic, ongoing library operations. While the actual changes to the E-Rate program likely won’t affect library budgets until 2025, we need to ensure library priorities are at the forefront of the FCC’s thoughts. We won’t get a better chance than this to ensure hotspot programs are sustainable.

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Nervous about submitting a filing for the first time? Here’s an easy step-by-step, with a few sample comments at the bottom to get you started:

1. Click here to submit an express comment.
   • Note for the completionists out there: If you would like to go into depth or share data from your specific experiences, use the standard filing instead of the express filing. The original Notice includes a series of questions, and the FCC especially encourages libraries who used the ECF for hotspot or device lending to share their budget figures, usage statistics, program results and lessons learned.
2. Under Proceeding(s), type 21-31. It will pop up with “Addressing the Homework Gap through the E-Rate Program.” Select it.
3. Under Name(s) of Filer(s), choose whether you are representing your library, another organization, or just speaking as yourself as a private citizen or resident. The FCC is supposed to take direction from anyone with an opinion, so feel free to just comment under your own name.
4. You will need to enter a US address. This can be your library or place of business, but it can also just be your home address. Be aware that whatever you enter will become part of the public record, and could be available for others to view online.
5. The final field says Brief Comments. Share your opinion! Don’t worry about using legalese or extremely formal writing. Use the same professional language you would use with your boss, and don’t overthink it. Your comment can be as long or short as you want.

Sample Comments: Feel free to copy and past the following (with edits to better fit your situation).

Example #1

“Thank you for proposing to allow hotspots to receive E-Rate support. My library circulates hotspots to our community and they are constantly in high demand. Our patrons use them for homework, telehealth, continuing education, job upskilling, and more. E-Rate support would allow us to increase our impact by offering hotspots to more library cardholders without a stable home internet connection.”

Example #2

“I am a parent of two elementary school aged children and I work remotely from home. Their homework is usually online, and our home internet isn’t fast enough for all three of us to be online at the same time. If it weren’t for the library hotspot we borrow, we would have to pick and choose who can be on the wifi all evening.””I am a parent of two elementary school aged children and I work remotely from home. Their homework is usually online, and our home internet isn’t fast enough for all three of us to be online at the same time. If it weren’t for the library hotspot we borrow, we would have to pick and choose who can be on the wifi all evening.”

Example #3

“My library used the Emergency Connectivity Fund to start checking out hotspots. Now that our funding has ended, we can only support a third of the devices with our existing budget. Every week I speak to patrons who are desperate to keep the hotspot they were using, and I have to explain we can’t pay for it anymore. E-Rate support for hotspots would enable us to offer the same number of hotspots we had during the ECF, and it would benefit our patrons’ lives.”

Remember that deadline to file comments: Jan. 16, 2024.

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