Extend ECF Service Delivery Deadline: E-Rate Group

Extend the Emergency Connectivity Fund's service delivery deadline until June 30, 2023, said the E-Rate Management Professionals Association in a letter to all FCC commissioners Thursday in docket 21-93. The association cited supply chain shortages, where at least one school was told by a provider that the item approved for funding was no longer available, and staffing shortages that have caused delays in processing requests. Extending the deadline "will allow the applicants to fully utilize this valuable funding opportunity in alignment with the ECF program goals," it said. It backed a similar request by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, Consortium for School Networking, State Educational Technology Directors Association and American Library Association.