California Teleconnect Fund

Providing a discounted rate on telecommunications services to qualifying organizations.

The CTF Distance Learning Discount has been extended to June 30, 2021, for all current participants. Participating service providers will automatically apply applicable CTF discounts to the eligible mobile data connections. No further action is required.

Please see COVID-19 Distance Learning Discounts for more information.

Who is it for?

The California Teleconnect Fund (CTF) provides a discounted rate on telecommunications services to qualifying K–12 schools, libraries, community colleges, government-owned hospitals and health clinics, community-based organizations, and community-based organizations.

Organizations may receive a 50% discount on qualified services through telecommunications companies participating in the program. This program is funded through a surcharge on all customers that purchase intrastate telecommunications services. See the California Teleconnect Fund Fact Sheet for more information.

Application Process

You can apply for the CTF discount by downloading and submitting an application.

If you are approved, you must present your CTF Approval Letter to a participating service provider to get the discount. Find more information about qualifications, eligible communication services, and application forms and instructions in the CTF Applicant & Participant Guidebook.

Application Renewal Process (Recertification)

Existing participants of the CTF program must submit a new application to renew their qualifications to continue receiving discounts.

Community-based organizations must recertify every 3 years
Other participants must recertify every 5 years.

You will receive an email or letter in the mail with instructions on how to complete and submit a new application. For more information, please see the CTF Applicant and Participant Guidebook for the application form and instructions on completing the application.

We will inform your carrier about your renewal schedule and the outcome of the renewal. Renewal outcomes:

If you qualify, you will receive a new CTF-ID and continue to receive the CTF discount.
If you do not qualify, you will not receive a new CTF-ID, and the carrier will stop providing you discounts.

Who needs to renew?

The participants required to renew include the following:

9,088 Community-based Organizations (CBOs)
1,083 Public Schools
1,033 Public School Districts
1,440 Private Schools
393 Libraries
11 Library Consortia
172 Government-Owned and Operated Hospitals and Clinics
46 California Community Colleges
50 California Community College Districts

If you are a carrier or service provider, you can reference the CTF Service Provider Manual for important information on the CTF program. The manual lists the requirements, including the categories of eligible services to receive the CTF discount, instructions on how to apply the CTF discount to customers' bills, and the process for requesting reimbursement from us.

Make sure participants are qualified to receive the CTF discount by referring to the entity eligibility status lists. We encourage you to work with your customers to meet renewal deadlines to ensure CTF program compliance and avoid interruption of discounts.

Recent program rule changes include:

Resolution T-17666 changes the due date and time limit for you to submit claims for reimbursement. You have 60 days from the end of the month to submit claims for March 2020 and thereafter. Claims must be filed in chronological order, and you must submit all claims for months before March 2020 before submitting your claim for March 2020.
Administrative Letter No.29: A new CTF Claim Workbook will replace the Claim Form and Reports from Administrative Letter No.17. beginning with claims for reimbursement for the July 2020 claim period. See the CTF Service Provider Manual for the template and instructions.

See below for resources for carriers and service providers:

See below for more CTF-related resources: