Agency seeks input from education stakeholders as it looks to create a national broadband plan
Primary Topic Channel: eRate
The e-Rate can play a significant role in the national broadband plan being developed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), panelists said during an Aug. 20 hearing--but for this to happen, commissioners must raise the program's funding cap.
"When the e-Rate began, our connectivity consisted of a few dial-up connections in our school libraries," said Sheryl Abshire, chief technology officer for the Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Lake Charles, La. "Today, this has all changed. We now have over 20,000 computers connected to our network, and--at any given moment--over 12,000 of them are accessing the network. Each day, our students, teachers, and administrators make more than 5 million web page or network object requests, send or receive over 35,000 eMail messages, and transmit 18.5 gigabytes of data."
Yet, as successful as the program has been in connecting schools and libraries to the internet, demand for the e-Rate still far exceeds what is available for disbursement, Abshire testified.
"Since the program's second year, the [FCC] has not raised the e-Rate's annual cap above its current $2.25 billion funding level, not even providing it an inflation adjustment," she said. "On average, annual demand for e-Rate support outstrips the annual cap by $1.75 billion, with this year's $3.99 billion demand mirroring the average shortfall."
Abshire's testimony came during a hearing convened by the FCC to discuss the implications of its national broadband plan for education. The hearing was one of several the agency is holding as it works to create a national strategy for ensuring that all citizens have affordable access to high-speed internet service.
Abshire, who is responsible for her district's e-Rate applications and audits, described how the program has provided more than $5 million in telecommunications discounts to her district to significantly upgrade its network infrastructure; support phone, cellular, and voice-over-IP services; and enable IP video services.
Abshire said the e-Rate provides many benefits, but she recommended several reforms that should be made to enhance the program's effectiveness, including raising the annual funding cap to at least $4 billion.
Growing demand for e-Rate discounts "is pushing the e-Rate to the brink of being unable to satisfy the internal connections requests from our nation's poorest of the poor: those schools and libraries that are eligible for 90-percent discounts," Abshire said. "As it is, the program has been unable to satisfy all internal connections requests since its second year ... and hasn't been able to provide internal connections funding to applicants eligible for less than 80-percent discounts in the past five funding years."
Calcasieu Parish, like many other districts, has suffered from the shortfall in e-Rate funding, Abshire said.
"The only year in recent memory that we received funding for internal connections was in 2006-07, and it took Hurricane Rita ... and a special exemption from the Commission for that to occur," she said. "Other than that, we have not received any substantial internal connections dollars since the program's inception--and we don't expect this year to be any different, because of our low to mid 70-percent discount eligibility."
Agency seeks input from education stakeholders as it looks to create a national broadband plan
Primary Topic Channel: eRate
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The e-Rate can play a significant role in the national broadband plan being developed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), panelists said during an Aug. 20 hearing--but for this to happen, commissioners must raise the program's funding cap.
"When the e-Rate began, our connectivity consisted of a few dial-up connections in our school libraries," said Sheryl Abshire, chief technology officer for the Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Lake Charles, La. "Today, this has all changed. We now have over 20,000 computers connected to our network, and--at any given moment--over 12,000 of them are accessing the network. Each day, our students, teachers, and administrators make more than 5 million web page or network object requests, send or receive over 35,000 eMail messages, and transmit 18.5 gigabytes of data."
Yet, as successful as the program has been in connecting schools and libraries to the internet, demand for the e-Rate still far exceeds what is available for disbursement, Abshire testified.
"Since the program's second year, the [FCC] has not raised the e-Rate's annual cap above its current $2.25 billion funding level, not even providing it an inflation adjustment," she said. "On average, annual demand for e-Rate support outstrips the annual cap by $1.75 billion, with this year's $3.99 billion demand mirroring the average shortfall."
Abshire's testimony came during a hearing convened by the FCC to discuss the implications of its national broadband plan for education. The hearing was one of several the agency is holding as it works to create a national strategy for ensuring that all citizens have affordable access to high-speed internet service.
Abshire, who is responsible for her district's e-Rate applications and audits, described how the program has provided more than $5 million in telecommunications discounts to her district to significantly upgrade its network infrastructure; support phone, cellular, and voice-over-IP services; and enable IP video services.
Abshire said the e-Rate provides many benefits, but she recommended several reforms that should be made to enhance the program's effectiveness, including raising the annual funding cap to at least $4 billion.
Growing demand for e-Rate discounts "is pushing the e-Rate to the brink of being unable to satisfy the internal connections requests from our nation's poorest of the poor: those schools and libraries that are eligible for 90-percent discounts," Abshire said. "As it is, the program has been unable to satisfy all internal connections requests since its second year ... and hasn't been able to provide internal connections funding to applicants eligible for less than 80-percent discounts in the past five funding years."
Calcasieu Parish, like many other districts, has suffered from the shortfall in e-Rate funding, Abshire said.
"The only year in recent memory that we received funding for internal connections was in 2006-07, and it took Hurricane Rita ... and a special exemption from the Commission for that to occur," she said. "Other than that, we have not received any substantial internal connections dollars since the program's inception--and we don't expect this year to be any different, because of our low to mid 70-percent discount eligibility."