The pace of Year 3 E-rate funding commitments slowed again Aug. 25, as the Schools and Libraries Division announced it was distributing only $24.6 million in funding commitments to 164 applicants.
With the latest wave, $1.53 billion, or 68 percent of the money that could be available for Year 3, has been committed. There was no change in the approved threshold for internal connections requests; it remains at the 83 percent discount rate level.
The average commitment in the latest wave, number 19, was $171,341. It now appears that it will take the SLD longer to complete the process of issuing funding commitments this year than it did last year, when the agency was able to finish the process in 20 weekly waves. The Year 3 funding year started on July 1, 2000.
