FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel: E-rate Rulemaking Imminent

Federal Communications Commission member Jessica Rosenworcel signaled that the FCC would likely be launching its revamp of the E-rate program next week.

E-Rate is the FCC mandate to provide affordable access to cutting-edge telecommunications service to schools and libraries, with that subsidy coming out of the Universal Service Fund. Commissioner Rosenworcel that there should be bandwidth goals -- calling for 100% school access to 100 Mbps by 2015, and one gig by the end of the decade -- and that giving every student access to first class communications was a civil rights issue. Commissioner Pai said he agreed the program needed revamping, and said his goal was to move the focus from bureaucracy to targeting and tailoring it to the needs of individual students. Both he and Rosenworcel indicated they would have more to say on the subject next week.