August 2012

Broadband internet access is crucial for student learning as online and blended learning expand throughout the country, but obstacles such as digital access and policy roadblocks must be addressed, said panelists during an Internet Innovation webinar on broadband’s potential in education. A broadband backbone is invaluable for expanding learning quality and opportunities for students and teachers when it comes to differentiated instruction, content, communication, and administrative needs, said David Teeter, director of policy for the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL). Broadband supports online and blended learning, enables and enhances personalized learning and differentiated instruction, and supports decision-making.

Google is expanding its free Wi-Fi project with hotspot provider Boingo beyond the subway stations and hotzones of New York City to eight malls across the country, testing whether free wireless access sponsored by its daily deal service Google Offers will work.

Last week Harris County, Texas, stood up the first 14 sites of what could one day become a nationwide broadband wireless network for public safety. The launch was a major milestone in an effort stretching back to the late 1990s, when Congress ordered the Federal Communications Commission to set aside 700 MHz spectrum for public safety. For many years the dream of an interoperable radio for the nation’s first responders had stalled at the federal level. Twenty-one cities, counties and states got tired of waiting, said former Seattle CTO Bill Schrier. In 2010, those jurisdictions formed the Operator Advisory Committee (OAC) and formally applied to the FCC to use the bandwidth, which was granted in May 2010. According to Schrier — who led Seattle’s effort and became chairman of the OAC — members began building their networks. Last week the FCC gave permission for Harris County and Charlotte (NC) to go live — with Harris County first out of the gate. That permission came in the form of a provisional waiver, which allowed those two jurisdictions to move ahead since both projects met interoperability requirements needed for the planned national network.

T-Mobile and NTCH, owner of the Cleartalk brand, will be able to collect money from the Lifeline low-income portion of the Universal Service program in certain states as the result of action taken by the Federal Communications Commission late last week.

Both carriers had asked the commission to grant them eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) status so that they could participate in the program, which is funded by the telecom industry and pays about $9 per household toward the cost of voice service. T-Mobile was granted ETC status for the purpose of providing Lifeline services in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, Virginia and the District of Columbia. NTCH was conditionally granted limited designation as a Lifeline ETC in North Carolina and Tennessee. Originally the Lifeline program was directed toward traditional landline phone service, but in recent years some states have allowed funding to be used for wireless service and in January the FCC made that an option nationwide. Various wireless carriers already offer Lifeline services. Sprint, for example, has one of the most aggressive programs, offering Lifeline service for no net charge to end users in 34 states through its Assurance Wireless brand. The offering includes 250 minutes of voice service and 250 text messages per month, with customers having the option to pay an additional fee to get more minutes or messages. Sprint views the offering as a way of getting new subscribers at a time when wireless adoption rates have become saturated. According to last week’s FCC order, NTCH plans to charge $29.95 a month before the Lifeline discount for unlimited voice service with no credit checks, deposits or long-term contracts. T-Mobile’s pricing was not stated, but the commission did note that the carrier will offer preset monthly rates with additional minutes for purchase at the “low rate of $0.05 per minute.”