A bold vision for broadband access for all US schools

[Commentary] Evan Marwell’s mission is to help bring high-speed Internet access to “99-point something percent” of American schools.

Marwell’s EducationSuperHighway is about to release its “State of the States” report that will show great progress since its 2013 survey showed just 37 percent of U.S. schools were connected with the fiber-optic cable required for high-speed Internet. Marwell said the report would show “a dramatic increase in those numbers” — and a significant narrowing of the gaps between wealthy and poor districts and urban and rural schools. Marwell, who founded companies focused on telecom, software and hedge funds, has tried to infuse a startup culture into EducationSuperHighway. His success in getting attention and funding from the federal government. Marwell makes plain that he wants EducationSuperHighway to accomplish its mission and “go out of business in 2020.” That get-it-done-and-say-farewell sensibility, he said, has helped him to attract both funding and recruit skilled, high-energy idealists who otherwise might prefer to change the world in the private sector.