FCC Stops E-Rate Funding for Off-Campus Wi-Fi

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2025 – The Federal Communications voted Tuesday to end subsidy support for off-campus Wi-Fi. The agency said it would deny pending requests for funding for those services.

The Republican-controlled FCC rescinded on party lines two previous decisions: a 2023 ruling that expanded the agency’s E-Rate program to support Wi-Fi on school buses, and a 2024 order that extended funding eligibility to Wi-Fi hotspots that library patrons or students could use off-campus.

“E-Rate funding is meant to enhance access to telecommunications services in classrooms and libraries. A school bus is neither,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said. “We cannot simply reinterpret the statutory term ‘classrooms’ to mean any place where learning might occur.”