The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revealed 20 per cent of the $1.2 billion in grants offered in the first round of its Emergency Connectivity Fund programme went to schools and libraries in New York state.

Successful schools and libraries may use the funding to help bridge a so-called homework gap by providing schoolchildren with devices including tablets and Wi-Fi hotspots, and/or broadband connectivity.

The FCC stated the initial funding round will help connect 3.6 million students, 3.1 million devices and 774,115 broadband connections.

Organisations in the state of New York secured $243 million, with $192 million going to the New York City Department of Education alone.

Texas ranked next in terms of funding commitments at $92 million, with other big recipients including California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

The FCC stated 3,678 applicants submitted funding requests and it is still reviewing some of these.

A second application filing window will be available between 28 September and 13 October.

In total, the FCC plans to distribute $7.2 billion through the Emergency Connectivity Fund.