Join the Consortium

To join the consortium and benefit from Internet, broadband connectivity and security services at no charge, please see instructions below.

First step is to sign a K-12 Letter of Agency. Please email DoIT.ICN.K12@illinois.gov requesting a Letter of Agency. DoIT will then email a Letter of Agency for you to digitally sign.

The Letter of Agency allows the consortium to solicit and procure circuits on your behalf. The Letter of Agency is required by E-rate rules. Please note that signing a Letter of Agency does not limit or remove your ability to file your own E-rate forms and issue your own procurement.

To check if your school district has previously signed a Letter of Agency, please go to www.illinois.gov/k12broadband then under "Resources" select the link "Consortium LOAs Received" to download a spreadsheet. If your school district is listed in the spreadsheet, you do not need to sign another Letter of Agency.

Second step is to provide to the consortium your broadband circuits. This is done via a simple online tool. We pull address information from the E-rate database, so you will not need to type out addresses. Please first watch the short 10 minute instructions video before using the tool. The link to the tool is at www.illinois.gov/k12broadband then under "Forms and Tools" are the links for: "Consortium Data Collection Tool" and "Consortium Data Collection Tool Instructions (Video)" Please view the "Creating New Circuits Video".

Once the consortium receives your circuit information, eligible circuits will be included in the procurement to be issued approximately August 2023 timeframe. This will be for service from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 and from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.

An eligible circuit is either not in a term contract or in a term contract that completes prior to June 30, 2026. The consortium does not allow circuits already in a contract to be terminated early (with early termination fees) to then join the consortium.

Please email DoIT.ICN.K12@illinois.gov if you have any questions.