Libraries and Schools Brace for FCC Cuts to Wi-Fi Programs

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2025 – A federal decision last week to end funding for off-campus Wi-Fi programs has left libraries and schools scrambling to cover the costs or shut programs down.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 2–1 Tuesday to eliminate E-Rate support for hotspot lending programs and Wi-Fi on school buses.

In Los Angeles County, the impact was immediate. The county library system said Thursday it will begin winding down its digital lending services following the FCC’s vote, noting that the program costs about $40,500 per month to maintain. Without federal support, the library said, that expense was unsustainable under its current budget.

The 1,762 libraries serving more than 40 million patrons which applied for hotspot funding in 2025 may now face similar decisions, said American Library Association President Sam Helmick.

“Most libraries that applied for federal E-Rate hotspot funding have signed contracts for those services,” said Helmick. “They may need to pull funding from other programs to pay for these contracts with service providers.”

At its Sept. 30 meeting, the FCC approved two related items directing the Universal Service Administrative Company to deny all pending and future E-Rate requests for off-campus Wi-Fi beginning in funding year 2025 – which runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, generally covering the 2025–2026 school year.

“We don’t yet know the full extent of what this vote means for libraries and schools and the communities we serve,” Helmick said, adding it was “unfair for libraries and the communities they serve to lose access to the critical supports they were promised.”

Los Angeles County Library plans to use remaining American Rescue Plan funds to continue laptop lending through January and hotspot lending through March 2026.

School districts preparing for losses

The Los Angeles Unified School District was also preparing for substantial losses. 

District officials estimate the end of E-Rate support represents a total loss of roughly $10 to $12 million, including about $622,000 in recurring annual costs. The district estimates as many as 70,000 students who relied on school-issued hotspots for internet access at home will be impacted.

Advocates across the country characterized the FCC’s vote last week as “cruel,” “a step backward,” and a rule that “helps no one.”

“Cutting off kids’ internet access is cutting off their future,” said Amina Fazlullah, head of tech policy advocacy for Common Sense Media. “The FCC’s vote today to strip away internet access for millions of kids is a betrayal of every student who needs and deserves the same chance to learn as their peers.”

Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone FCC Democrat opposed the measure, calling the rollback misguided. “Let me be clear – these decisions benefit no one,” she said. “Removing E-Rate funding for hotspots and Wi-Fi on school buses will force cutbacks in service and undoubtedly impact the way that schools and libraries are providing educational support to students.”

However, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who led the vote, said the order “restores the FCC’s commitment to following the law as written,” arguing that E-Rate funds were meant to improve access in classrooms and libraries, not beyond them. “We cannot simply reinterpret ‘classrooms’ to mean any place where learning might occur,” Carr said.