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E-rate Funding 2020: Use It or Lose It?

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The new FCC Report & Order on the U.S. government’s E-rate rules of engagement for 2020 and beyond are here. And it includes some critical E-rate funding changes that could impact current K-12 budgets.

First, this highly anticipated order permanently locks in Category Two (CAT2) funding for the E-rate program. Many rumors were flying around that E-rate program funding for infrastructure was going away. Well, we have our answer: it is here to stay!

Another critical change of the E-rate program concerns budgets. E-rate budgets begin a new cycle that will be in subsequent five-year periods starting in 2021.

What does that mean to schools and libraries participating in the program? Essentially, if a school or library is sitting on a bucket of CAT2 monies from the 2015-2020 season, then they must spend it now in E-rate 2020 or they will lose that funding (exact date to be released in January). This means there are millions of dollars sitting idle that schools and libraries must take advantage of this funding period.

Don’t lose E-rate 2020 funding

Now is the time for schools to act. There will undoubtedly be a tidal wave of applications to surge in the coming weeks. This E-rate season has been slow for Form 470 postings compared to past years and the delay in the Order has created a ‘watch-and-wait-to-post’ environment.

This delay created a short window for schools and libraries to act upon their funding requests. But when will the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC) start the clock on Form 471 posting season? Usually this would happen mid-January. With the rules of engagement posting so late in the year, will the E-rate 2020 season extend beyond March? We should know more soon.

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 the 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

Through its global channel of more than 21,000 technology partners, SonicWall is actively involved in helping K-12 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.

SonicWall integrated solutions meet the needs of school districts at the highest efficacy and at price points that fit within K-12 budget constraints. SonicWall helps reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) for these under-funded organizations.

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 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.

For more information on applying for E-rate funding, watch SonicWall’s step-by-step video series. Or, you can submit a request to talk to a SonicWall E-rate expert now.

Navigating the E-rate Program

SonicWall Now a California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) Vendor

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SonicWall has received the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) and is now a CMAS vendor in the state of California.

What is CMAS?

The California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) allows state agencies and local governments to streamline purchasing and ensure the payment of appropriate prices for information technology and non-information technology products and services.

The program is a part of the State of California Department of General Services Procurement Division. Vendors among the CMAS Unit have the capability of offering goods and services that have been competitively bid and awarded on a Federal General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule. The GSA is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies.

“SonicWall is dedicated to providing our partners every available competitive advantage during the selling process and reduce obstacles they may face,” said SonicWall general manager John Mullen, who oversees the company’s State, Local, Education (SLED) initiatives. “We look forward to working with them as a CMAS contractor to bring proven cyber security defenses to California’s highly depended upon state and local agencies that provide a range of services to the community.”

Being awarded CMAS means SonicWall has even more of an opportunity to support K-12 education through the use of the E-rate program.

What is the E-rate program?

Who Can Use CMAS?

Educational institutions in the state of California in the following categories are eligible for CMAS products or services.

  • K-12 public schools in California
  • Community colleges that spend public funds
  • California State University and University of California systems
  • State agencies
  • Any city, county or district

E-rate is a U.S. federal program that funds technology in schools and libraries. Many SonicWall network security products and services can be purchased by school districts and libraries through E-rate funding.

Many SonicWall network security products and services — including firewalls, high-speed wireless, and content filtering — can be purchased by school districts and libraries through E-rate funding, a Federal program funding technology in schools and libraries.

Leveraging the E-rate program enables cost savings which can help your district better comply with CIPA while safeguarding students, faculty, staff, data, and applications with state-of-the-art network security technology from SonicWall.

For more information, or to inquire about SonicWall solutions under the CMAS program, please contact John Mullen (jmullen@sonicwall.com) or Holly Davis (holly@komplement.us).

Save Money with E-rate Funding

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

LEARN MORE ABOUT E-RATE