Florida E-rate Assistance
The goal of the Florida E-rate assistance program is to:
- Provide a team of E-rate Coordinators to assist Florida schools and libraries.
- Increase participation success in the E-rate program.
- Assist Florida schools and libraries at no cost.
- Train and provide up to date news, resources and information on E-rate issues.
For assistance applicants should send their request to: eratehelp@mydmsservices.com
What is E-rate?
As a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created the E-rate program to ensure that schools and libraries have affordable access to advanced telecommunications services. Under the program, discounts ranging from 20% to 90% on Telecommunications Services, Internet Access, and Internal Connections are provided to eligible schools and libraries, subject to a $2.25 billion annual cap.
In order to receive E-rate discounts, schools and libraries must competitively bid all eligible services on the SLD (program administrator) website and after a minimum of 28 days, select the most cost effective proposal. E-rate discounts are then requested by applying to the SLD and if discounts are approved, they are provided to schools and libraries via directly discounted bills, or a reimbursement process after services have been provided.
Since 1998, Florida schools and libraries have received more than $900 million in E-rate discounts (see FL funding Analysis for detailed information), while all eligible schools and libraries nationwide have received more than $14.6 billion. For official E-rate guidance, visit the SLD's website at www.sl.universalservice.org. For Florida specific information visit the helpful links in this website.
