E-Rate Cybersecurity Pilot

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has designated a portion of the Universal Service Fund (USF) to establish a cybersecurity pilot program. The program will require an initial application, and a pilot program cohort will be selected from the initial applicant pool. Applicants may be individual libraries, library systems, or library consortia.

Selected libraries are eligible for a pre-discount budget of $15,000 per site, up to $175,000 for a system or consortium consisting of 12 or more sites. That budget re-sets each year for the 3 years of the pilot program ($45,000 per site for the duration of the pilot program or $525,000 for an applicant with 12 or more sites).

USAC Resources

• A full overview of the pilot program can be found at https://www.usac.org/e-rate/cybersecurity-pilot-program.
• Sign up for Pilot Program email updates.
• Visit the Learn section the USAC website to find newsletters, webinars, and FAQs.

FCC Resources

• For all of the details from the FCC, you can read the published rule in the Federal Register or the full Report and Order.
• Interested applicants can also visit the FCC’s Cybersecurity webpage for further resources.