Can K-12 districts really bring broadband to the community?

When it comes to providing free broadband access, most communities are far more likely to consider their local coffee shop over their school district, but in reality such institutions can serve as the vital link between high-speed internet capabilities and those families and students who may not have such access at home. And while many Americans do have high-speed broadband at home, such capabilities are not ubiquitous. The typical K-12 district isn’t in the position to start installing Wi-Fi hotspots all over town, so the question is: How can it provide Wi-Fi everywhere in a way that reaches those students who need it?

“You can’t just start throwing equipment on every utility pole,” says Michael Flood, vice president of startegy at Bethesda (MD)-based wireless provider kajeet, who sees mobile broadband networks as a more viable choice. A portable Wi-Fi hotspot, for example, allows multiple users to get online via a private network that can be managed and overseen by an instructor. Flood sees this option as particularly applicable for schools that are investing in thousands of Chromebooks that, for budgetary reasons, lack embedded LTE (a 4G mobile communications standard) capabilities. To districts that want to “fill the gap” by expanding broadband to their communities, Flood says partnering up with other entities is a good move that could help take some of the pressure (financial, resource, and time-wise) off the district itself. “We’ve seen a number of library systems providing broadband access, and we’ve also heard about possible new federal programs that would potentially use lifeline funds (a program that provides discounts on monthly telephone service for eligible subscribers) for broadband access,” says Flood. “Those are potentially big programs that could help in terms of offsetting the cost to the school.”