COVID-19 Has School Districts Battling For WiFi Hotspots

Groups that procure student-friendly hotspots and laptops with built-in internet access say that, as school districts move all classes online, a spike in demand has created a shortage of thousands — if not millions — of devices. LTE-connected laptops and hotspots are two of the most popular ways that school districts can put a plug-and-play internet connection into students' hands, allowing them to complete homework and keep up with lessons without a hardwired, in-home connection. One of the biggest barriers to obtaining the equipment is that it is made in China. Daniel Neal, founder of school technology vendor Kajeet, explained that U.S. companies tend to keep low inventories of the equipment on hand. The mass migration to home networks triggered by the onset of the coronavirus "is one of those unprecedented instances" in which a spike in demand wiped out supplies on hand, he said. Although Kajeet has already placed more orders for laptops and hotspots, "it's not coming as quickly as our school district customers would like," Neal said.