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  "description": "Turn down funding from FCC’s $200 million program.",
  "path": "/nycs-education-department-and-public-library-pull-out-of-fccs-cybersecurity-initiative/",
  "publishedAt": "2025-07-02T23:07:01.000Z",
  "site": "https://broadbandbreakfast.com",
  "tags": [
    "_pulled out_",
    "_Cybersecurity Pilot Program_",
    "_letter_",
    "_even shorter_",
    "_Universal Service Fund_",
    "_announced the launch_",
    "_flooded the office_",
    "_selecting 707 applicants_",
    "_were selected_"
  ],
  "textContent": "WASHINGTON, July 2, 2025 – The New York City Department of Education and the New York Public Library system have _pulled out_ of the Federal Communications Commission’s $200 million _Cybersecurity Pilot Program_.\n\nIn a Monday _letter_ to the Wireline Competition Bureau, NYCDOE E-rate Compliance Officer **Junaid Qaiser** did not go into detail about the department’s decision to pull out, stating only that “due to our lengthy procurement process, we will not have a registered contract for cybersecurity services, procured under E-rate rules, by the program’s application deadline of September 15, 2025.”\n\nThe NYPL’s letter, written by Associate Director of Network Engineering **Jeff Marable** , was _even shorter_, stating only that the 92-location strong system was requesting to withdraw from the program and that it had been an “honor” to be selected.\n\nA request for comment from Qaiser by _Broadband Breakfast_ was not answered in time for publication.\n\nThe FCC’s Cybersecurity Pilot Program is funded by the _Universal Service Fund_ and seeks to help schools, libraries, and consortiums of those organizations bolster their cyber defenses by funding the purchase of cybersecurity services and equipment.\n\nWhen the FCC _announced the launch_ of the three-year pilot program in September, it drew widespread interest around the country. In all, 2,734 applications requesting a total of $3.7 billion _flooded the office_, dwarfing the program’s $200 million budget.\n\nWith so many requests, the FCC was forced to turn down many of the bidders, _selecting 707 applicants_ based on need, geographic diversity, and other factors. The NYCDOE and NYPL _were selected_ as participants for the initiative in January, and had until Tuesday to withdraw from the program.\n\nOnce an applicant was selected for the program, it was required to conduct a bidding process or work through a Master Services Agreement negotiated on its behalf to collect bids for its desired cybersecurity equipment and services. Only after completing this process, and submitting the corresponding paperwork to the FCC, could an entity receive funding from the pilot program.\n\nEvidently, the NYCDOE and the NYPL were unable or unwilling to complete that process. Though they represented only two out of the 707 selected applicants, they were almost certainly two of the largest participants. The NYCDOE is the largest public school system in the country by enrollment, serving nearly one million K-12 students, while the New York Public Library is the second largest public library system in the U.S., dwarfed only by the Library of Congress.\n\nAt least 15 other participants have withdrawn from the program, though almost none are near as large as NYCDOE or NYPL.",
  "title": "NYC’s Education Department and Public Library Pull Out of FCC’s Cybersecurity Initiative",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-11T03:26:55.378Z"
}