FCC Directs USAC to Fully Fund Eligible C1 and C2 E-Rate Requests

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced that there is sufficient funding available to fully meet the Universal Service Administrative Company’s estimated demand for category one and category two requests for E-Rate-supported services for funding year 2026. On April 6, 2026, USAC submitted a demand estimate for the E-Rate program for funding year 2026. USAC estimates the total demand for funding year 2026 will be $3.5 billion, which includes estimated demand of $1.7 billion for category one services, and of $1.8 billion for category two services. The FCC announced that the E-Rate program inflation-based cap for funding year 2026 is $5.2 billion. Additionally, as of March 31, 2026, USAC projects that $600 million in unused funding from prior years is available for use in E-Rate funding year 2026.