FCC E-Rate Modernization Workshop: $750 Per Gigabit Target Suggested

Schools and libraries nationwide should be able to get gigabit connectivity to their service provider’s central office for an average of $750 per gigabit per month, said Evan Maxwell, CEO of Education SuperHighway, at a Federal Communications Commission workshop about E-rate modernization.

The E-rate program is part of the Universal Service program, which covers some of the costs of broadband connectivity for schools and libraries. The target speed for connectivity from the central office to the Internet should be three dollars per megabit per month -- a substantial decrease from the average $22 paid today, Maxwell said.

Education SuperHighway is a research and advocacy group that aims to improve broadband connectivity to the nation’s schools. Maxwell based his comment on research conducted by Education SuperHighway, which has been collecting cost and speed data from schools nationwide.

“We know these prices are possible,” Maxwell said, noting that the top half of schools pay an average of just under $600 per gigabit per month for local connectivity. “Every school with over 100 kids should get fiber,” added Maxwell. He added, however, that the nation will have to subsidize deployment where deployment would not otherwise be commercially feasible.