Michigan's State E-rate Coordinator, Joe Polasek, is offering a webinar describing and answering questions about how the E-rate Category 2 funding for this year and subsequent years is going to work. Why should you care? E-rate Category 2 funding can be used for network equipment, cabling, WiFi systems, firewalls, and support services. Of course there are footnotes and details, which you can read about here<https://www.usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/before-you-begin/eligible-services-overview/>. The way I look at it, if there are pressures on my budget because of things like declining penal fines or lower library fine revenue, then why not claim more of the money that my community is paying into the USF system anyway? I have to buy these things for my library regardless, so let's allow the feds to pay part of the bill. This webinar is NOT an overall "how to apply for E-rate". It IS about how the funding formula for the Category 2 program is changing. Spoiler: the pool of money you are eligible for is probably bigger than ever. E-Rate Category 2 Changes for the Coming E-Rate Funding Years By Joe Polasek Friday, January 24, 2020 9:30 - 10:30 am Zoom Webinar: https://zoom.us/j/555783979?pwd=SVdaSEdQV25ndThHYVlHaWRQdkV2QT09 By telephone: 646-876-9923 US (New York) Meeting ID: 555 783 979 ______________________________________________ Sheryl Cormicle Knox, Technology Director Capital Area District Libraries - Administration 401 S. Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI 48933 517-367-6347 | knoxs@cadl.org<mailto:knoxs@cadl.org> http://www.cadl.org<http://www.cadl.org/>| facebook.com/cadlibrary<http://facebook.com/cadlibrary> | twitter.com/cadl<http://twitter.com/cadl>