FCC to Vote on Rolling Back E-Rate at September Meeting

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2025 – The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote at its Sept. 30 meeting on whether to roll back subsidy support for Wi-Fi connectivity outside of schools and libraries.

In a Monday notice, the agency added two items to its existing agenda that would each invalidate an FCC order expanding its E-Rate program, which provides internet discounts to schools and libraries. One would find the roughly $2 billion-per-year program could no longer fund Wi-Fi on school buses, and the other would find that the agency would not fund Wi-Fi hotspots that student or library patrons could use off campus.

Republicans at the FCC and in Congress were opposed to both orders, which came down in 2023 and 2024 respectively, arguing the agency wasn’t legally allowed to use E-Rate funds on connectivity outside the physical bounds of a school or library. The FCC now has a 2-1 Republican majority.