Battle-Scarred, E-Rate Is Still Alive

Staff -- School Library Journal, 7/1/1998

It's been a rocky few weeks for the e-rate, the federal discount program to connect schools and libraries to the Internet. But when SLJ went to press in mid-June, the program had emerged intact--though with less money--after a series of high-profile attacks.Instead of the $2.25 billion annual cap first set by the Federal Communications Commission, the program will now dole out only $1.3 billion, the FCC decided. Also, the initial funding cycle will be stretched from 12 to 18 months.

Roughly 30,000 schools and libraries applied for the first round of funds, requesting a little over $2 billion.The e-rate is not out of the woods, however. Some members of Congress may still try to scuttle the program, said Lynne Bradley of the American Library Association.

Trouble for the e-rate began when three long-distance companies--AT&T, MCI, and Sprint--which contribute to a fund to pay for the discounts, announced they'd add a line item on residential phone bills to cover the program's cost. In June, four members of Congress urged the FCC to end the program, saying the commission had misconstrued Congress's intent and that the discounts would raise long-distance rates.--A.G.