FCC Provides Guidance to USAC on E-Rate Competitive Bidding Rules for Hotspot Equipment and Services

On December 20, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission directed USAC not to apply the Kalamazoo Reconsideration Order precedent to requests for Wi-Fi hotspots and/or the services and to find a competitive bidding violation if the applicant relies on a previously signed contract.

The Kalamazoo Reconsideration Order allows applicants to use a contract that was entered into without meeting the E-Rate competitive bidding requirements as a bid in a later E-Rate competitive bidding process.

The Commission emphasized that applicants must sign a new contract at the close of a new E-Rate competitive bidding process even if the applicant has a preexisting contract under which it is entitled to receive Wi-Fi hotspots and accompanying mobile wireless Internet service outside of the E-Rate program. The Commission noted that it is concerned applicants will have an incentive to remain with an existing provider rather than carefully considering all other bids received and that contracts entered into during the COVID-19 pandemic in the ECF program may not have been the most cost-effective offering given the ongoing public health emergency and supply chain issues during the pandemic.