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Frequently Asked Questions: The E-rate Program

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While we’ve explained the ins and outs of the E-rate program during the five-part SonicWall E-rate Fear Less series, we wanted to use the final episode to explore the common questions about the E-rate program itself and how SonicWall cyber security solutions may be funded via the program.

Episode Five: E-rate Fear Less Series Q&A

Holly Davis interviews SonicWall software business development director John Mullen.

The final video in our five-part series explores these common E-rate program questions:

  • Why SonicWall for the K12 Environment?
  • What is SonicWall Capture ATP?
  • Why would SonicWall Capture ATP sandboxing be necessary for K12?
  • What is SonicWall SECaaS?
  • Does E-rate fund firewalls in their entirety?
  • Is Capture ATP funded by the E-rate program?
  • Is SECaaS funded by the E-rate program?
  • How do I get started with the E-rate program?
  • Where can we find additional resources about the E-rate program?

What technology is eligible for funding the E-rate program?

To help offset funding and staffing shortages, the U.S. Department of Education and the FCC launched the E-rate program, which helps make telecommunications and information services more affordable for schools, campuses, districts and libraries.

The E-rate program is operated by Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), which has a core focus of providing underfunded verticals the access to affordable technology and security services. This includes schools, libraries, rural healthcare organizations and more.

USAC provides a yearly Eligible Services List (ESL), which outlines which types of products and services can be procured via E-rate program discounts.

SonicWall and E-rate

With the most comprehensive channel program in the industry, combined with additional E-rate discounts, SonicWall and our partners are best positioned to meet the needs of K12 customers and help them take full advantage of the funding E-rate provides for securing their networks.

Through its global channel of more than 24,000 technology partners, SonicWall is actively involved in helping K12 education organizations cost-effectively obtain and deploy network security solutions. SonicWall provides a broad array of E-rate-eligible products and services, including firewalls and turnkey Security-as-a-Service solutions.

If you are an eligible K12 organization, please contact your preferred SonicWall reseller for information on E-rate benefits and discounts, or visit the SonicWall E-rate page for information, tools and guidance.

The E-rate ‘Fear Less’ Technology Infrastructure 2018

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Before you begin the RFP process, it’s important to explore the technology infrastructure (specifically what’s eligible in Category Two) as defined within the E-rate program by Universal Service Administration Company (USAC) and how each relates to the E-rate funding process.

Episode 4: The E-rate Fear Less Technology Infrastructure

On the fourth episode of the E-rate Fear Less series, Holly Davis dives further into the program and reviews other options school districts have in building a secure, future-proof network with the E-rate program.

At a high level, E-rate Category Two technology in three primary pillars. Category Two components are those that relate to cyber security solutions, hardware, software and other services. For more details about E-rate categories, please review the 2019 Eligible Services List (PDF).

Technology Function
Broadband Internal Connections (IC) On-premise solution internally managed; equipment may be owned or leased.
Managed Internal Broadband Services (MIBS) Managed service solution owned, leased or hosted in the cloud.
Basic Maintenance
of Broadband Internal Connections		 Support for the IC solution.
Source: 2019 Eligible Services List (PDF)

E-rate Category 2 technology funding with SonicWall

School and campus networks range in size and manage different types of sensitive data. Mitigating potential weak points in the network — and the data that can be targeted — is no easy task for standard IT teams that haven’t undergone extensive cyber security training. SonicWall network and cyber security solutions meet the needs of school districts at the highest efficacy — all at price points that fit within K-12 budgets.

If you are utilizing E-rate funding to assist you in buying your networking and cyber security solutions, SonicWall can help. Our team of E-rate funding experts ensure your SonicWall solution aligns with the rules and regulations of the E-rate program.

SonicWall Security as a Service (SECaaS) is an alternative solution for schools that do not have a large capital outlay to invest in a future-proof security solution or a dedicated IT team trained to manage cyber security.

“Security-as-a-Service provides more flexibility,” said Jenna Burros, Director of Business Services, at the Calistoga Joint Unified School District in California. “It is such an improvement to be able to have enough control to differentiate various levels of accessibility.”

Under Burros’ guidance, the California school district upgraded the flexibility and granularity of its existing content-filtering solution, while also keeping costs at minimum — a key obstacle for K-12 organizations regardless of E-rate eligibility.

With the most comprehensive channel program in the industry, combined with additional E-rate discounts, SonicWall and its partners are best positioned to meet the needs of K-12 customers and help them take full advantage of the funding E-rate provides for securing their networks.

If you are an eligible K-12 organization, please contact your preferred SonicWall reseller for information on E-rate benefits and discounts, or visit the SonicWall E-rate page for information, tools and guidance.

E-rate Episode Video Series for K-12 School Districts

What is E-rate?

To help offset funding and staffing shortages, the U.S. Department of Education and the FCC launched the E-rate program, which helps make telecommunications and information services more affordable for schools, campuses, districts and libraries.

The E-rate program is operated by Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), which has a core focus of providing underfunded organizations access to affordable technology and security services. This includes schools, libraries and rural healthcare organizations.

USAC provides a yearly Eligible Services List (ESL), which outlines which types of products and services can be procured via E-rate program discounts.

 Applicant Steps & Resources

Prep: Before You Begin
Step 1: Competitive Bidding
Step 2: Selecting Service Providers
Step 3: Applying for Discounts
Step 4: Application Review
Step 5: Starting Services
Step 6:  Invoicing 

Resources provided by USAC

California School District Amps Up Content Filtering with SonicWall’s Security-as-a-Service

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We know how much value SonicWall network security brings to our customers, and we know how much value our partners add when incorporating our solutions into their solutions for our customers.

The case of Calistoga Unified Regional School District is an excellent example.

Calistoga is in California’s Napa Valley. The district has more than 850 students, divided among an elementary school, junior/senior high school and an alternative-program continuation high school for students between the ages of 16 and 18. Administration offices are in a separate building near the junior/senior high school.

The district felt that its existing content-filtering services were not providing all the functionality it needed. Calistoga couldn’t get the flexibility and granular control over content filtering it needed to define different roles and access permissions for students, faculty and staff.

Like all K-12 school districts, Calistoga’s content filtering is there to protect against inappropriate and malicious web content, as well as to control application access.

“Our No. 1 priority is making sure that the students are protected,” says Jenna Burrows, Calistoga’s Director of Business Services.

Regulatory requirements regarding content filtering are also part of the picture. The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), is the most directly relevant. Content filtering is also important with regards to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects students’ personally identifiable information (PII) from unauthorized disclosure, and is a requirement for districts to be eligible for discounts through the federal E-rate program.

Faced with a clear need to upgrade their content-filtering capabilities, Calistoga turned to their local managed services provider, Napa Valley Networks (NVN). NVN has been a SonicWall partner for more than 15 years. NVN recommended SonicWall’s Content Filtering Service for Calistoga.

But NVN didn’t stop with content filtering. After an initial audit of Calistoga’s network, they uncovered an issue with the district’s gateway. NVN’s Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Kyle Lumley, says the existing gateway “didn’t give them the control or feature set that they needed.”

NVN’s recommendation for Calistoga was a SonicWall SuperMassive 9800 next-generation firewall with High Availability capability.

All well and good so far. More granular, customizable content filtering and a new gateway to provide better control for the present, as well as being better able to handle future increases in networked devices and utilization.

Then came the 400-pound gorilla. How could Calistoga afford to pay for these improved capabilities? School districts work under very tight financial constraints.

Fortunately, NVN and SonicWall had a solution.

Calistoga leveraged SonicWall’s Security-as-a-Service (SECaaS). Rather than paying a large amount upfront as a capital expenditure, Calistoga pays a much more manageable monthly fee which fits within its operating budget. Burrows says this is a much more reasonable solution for the district.

Additionally, much of the cost is eligible for discounts through the federal E-rate program.

NVN coordinated the transition to the new gateway and Content Filtering Service. All went well, even in the face of tight deadlines. Calistoga’s happy with the results.

Read the Case Study here.

Read Calistoga Case Study