Policy Gap
The Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program was created in 1996 to ensure that low income and rural schools would not be left behind at the start of the Internet revolution. At the time, only 15 percent of schools had a broadband connection to the Internet. Over the next seven years, E-Rate closed the digital access divide by funding broadband connections for 99 percent of K-12 schools.
Today, E-Rate remains a hero for our public schools. Without E-Rate, few schools would be able to afford their basic Internet access that is critical to enabling e-mail and basic web research.
Unfortunately, a new digital divide, driven by the arrival of Web 2.0, video content, and other high-bandwidth applications has emerged in the last several years. Capacity, not access, is now the critical bottleneck to digital learning and once again, 80 percent of our K-12 students are being left behind by the Internet revolution. We need policy makers and administrators to stand up and make good policy in order to address this new digital divide in our schools.
Today, E-Rate remains a hero for our public schools. Without E-Rate, few schools would be able to afford their basic Internet access that is critical to enabling e-mail and basic web research.
Unfortunately, a new digital divide, driven by the arrival of Web 2.0, video content, and other high-bandwidth applications has emerged in the last several years. Capacity, not access, is now the critical bottleneck to digital learning and once again, 80 percent of our K-12 students are being left behind by the Internet revolution. We need policy makers and administrators to stand up and make good policy in order to address this new digital divide in our schools.
Our solution: Awareness Building and E-Rate 2.0
Since our founding in January 2012, EducationSuperHighway has elevated K-12 Internet infrastructure to a key policy issue for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the US Department of Education, and state and federal policy makers through a combination of analysis and advocacy. E-Rate 2.0 can provide the funding needed to upgrade America’s K-12 Internet infrastructure for digital learning. E-Rate 2.0 will update the program’s goals, increase transparency, automate the application process, and revise the list of eligible services to focus on high-speed Internet infrastructure. By upgrading E-Rate, we can maximize the impact of the program and unlock up to $1 billion per year for investment in high speed Internet infrastructure.
Read more about implementing E-Rate 2.0 in FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel's speech here.
Read more about implementing E-Rate 2.0 in FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel's speech here.
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