ICN continues to be a crucial Internet service provider for Iowa’s K-12 education community. Schools and libraries can use our Internet, data, and firewall services to keep their buildings connected and safe through the FCC’s E-Rate program.
The E-rate funding provides discounts towards eligible telecommunications services. To receive E-Rate discounts, K-12 schools and libraries are required to use competitive bidding and award services based upon best value (primarily cost).
Although authorized customers are not required to use the ICN for services, even with the competitive process, ICN delivers reliable service with added values like a private network, dedicated account team, and 24/7 Iowa-based network operation center support.
The FCC public notice reads, "In light of the current funding cap of $4.94 billion and available carry forward funding of $500 million, there is sufficient funding to fully fund all category one and category two funding requests for funding year 2024."
For the upcoming 2024–2025 school year, ICN is preparing to roll out Internet, data, and firewall services, which must be operational by July 1. Below are some E-rate highlights.
- Users kept their Internet speeds the same or asked for higher bandwidth connections.
- Funding requests are for services between the ranges of 1 Gigabit to 3 Gigabits and above.
- By committing to a long-term contract, K-12 education and library users are asking for a fixed fee for consistency.
- Additionally, services for firewall security were requested by some schools.
- Users that select the ICN as their service provider are connected to Internet2's classroom resources. ICN is a participating state/regional networking partner with Internet2’s Community Anchor Program.
- The E-rate funding provides discounts towards eligible telecommunications services. There are two E-rate categories of funding available for eligible services: Category 1 services include Internet and Ethernet connections (data) and Category 2 services include hardware devices, managed service costs, firewalls, etc.
ICN has participated in the E-rate program since 2001, helping Iowa's schools and libraries stay connected, saving over $125 million.