Welcome to E-Rate FY2025
The E-Rate Program funds networking equipment and infrastructure within a school or library building. Connectivity - and the ability for schools to provide digital learning - has never been more critical. Our sales team is deeply knowledgeable in E-Rate funding and can support you with your application. We do site surveys, needs assessments and budgetary pricing to optimize E-Rate coverage for your school technology plan.
DES has supported K-12 with E-Rate design and implementation since 1996. We partner with many leading brands to build network solutions that are covered through E-Rate’s Category 2 funding, including, Alcatel-Lucent, Aruba HPE, Fortinet and many more.
E-Rate Services
Technology Planning
We can consult with you to develop your 5-year technology plan, including curriculum integration, needs assessments and equipment inventory.
Budgetary Pricing
As you develop your RFP, we can advise you on technology requirements and manufacturer pricing so you can maximize your funding allocation.
Managed Services
MIBs (Managed Internet Broadband) is now included as an eligible E-Rate expense. Reduce strain on your IT department with a tailored managed services plan.
Maintenance & Support
Protect your eligible network equipment with hardware maintenance and network support.
What You Need To Know:
The Schools and Libraries Program, commonly known as E-rate, provides discounts for telecommunications, internet access and internal connections to eligible schools and libraries. E-rate is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the direction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Every five years, E-Rate allocates a new funding cycle that covers the full five years. Each year during that cycle, schools can apply for purchases against their 5-year budget. The filing window for FY2021 opens up current 5-year budget. Schools can make use of any part of their E-Rate allocation for FY2021-2026.
FY2025 Filing Window: December 1, 2024 through April 1, 2025.
DES E-rate SPIN/498 ID: 143004490
What is Covered:
DES can provide all equipment and services on the Category 2 listings, including:
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Wireless Access Points/Wireless Controllers
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Routers
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Switches
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Antennas (must be integral to the LAN/WAN)
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Firewall Equipment
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Internal Structured Cabling for switches and APs.
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Caching Servers – (these are the only eligible servers)
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Racks that house eligible equipment
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UPS that support eligible equipment
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Cloud-based functionality of eligible equipment
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Licenses for eligible equipment (can apply for multi-year license in Year 1 of your contract)
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Software that supports eligible equipment
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Limited basic maintenance services for eligible equipment
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Managed Internal Broadband Services (MIBS) – (see more below)
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Taxes, surcharges and other similar reasonable charges
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Shipping charges
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Training on how to use eligible equipment
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Installation and configuration (not required to be the equipment vendor)
What DES Can Do For You:
We do site surveys, needs assessments and budgetary pricing to optimize E-Rate coverage for your school technology plan. In addition, we offer maintenance and support packages to protect your E-Rate solutions.
As a solution integrator, we partner with many leading brands to build network solutions that are covered through E-Rate’s Category 2 funding:
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Alcatel-Lucent
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Aruba HPE
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Fortinet
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Juniper Networks
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And many more
Solutions from our Toolkit
Right-Sized Wireless for Any School
WI-FI ACCESS POINTS AND NETWORK DESIGN
In today’s school environment, reliable wireless access is a critical component to curriculum design. We assess the school campus design and evaluate all contributing factors – such as the composition of classroom walls – to create a network plan that maximizes connectivity while remaining in budget. With the growing proliferation of endpoint devices, we ensure that the Wi-Fi network can scale to support your campus requirements.
Not all switches are created equal. We work with multiple vendors and understand when a multi-gig switch is appropriate or when a PoE++ switch has greater value. Our sales engineers work with you to design network solutions that are effective and sustainable