FCC Seeks Comments on Petitions Regarding Off-Campus Use of Existing E-Rate Supported Connectivity

The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on two petitions, one filed by Microsoft Corporation, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation (MBC) and other petitioners, and the other filed by the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic on behalf of the Boulder Valley School District. The petitions request that the FCC allow E-rate-subsidized broadband networks to be accessed by students at home for educational purposes, without an obligation on the E-rate applicant to cost allocate the portion of the traffic attributable to off-campus use.

In the petition filed by Microsoft Corporation, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation, Charlotte County Public Schools, Halifax County Public Schools, GCR Company, and Kinex Telecom, petitioners seek clarification that if they use TV White Spaces (“TVWS”) technology to extend an eligible school’s E-rate-covered Internet access service to the homes of students in and around those schools for educational purposes, they do not have to cost allocate out of their requests for E-rate support the traffic that originates off-campus. In the alternative, petitioners seek a waiver of the FCC’s rules to permit them to implement a pilot project as described in the petition. In the petition for waiver filed by Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic on behalf of Boulder Valley School District (Boulder Valley), the petitioner seeks a waiver of the cost allocation rule in order to allow students at neighboring housing authorities to get Internet access through Boulder Valley’s E-rate subsidized, self-provisioned fiber network after school hours, without Boulder Valley having to cost allocate for the amount of service attributable to off-campus use. According to the petition, local housing authorities or other entities would pay the cost of connecting the affordable housing complexes to Boulder Valley’s network. The Boulder Valley Petition takes the position that the E-rate supported network and Internet access costs for after-hours use are minimal and arguably immaterial because providing access to the district’s broadband network after-hours will not incur an additional charge. They explain that because the school district’s network is designed to ensure that students and teachers have enough bandwidth during school hours, there will be enough bandwidth afterhours to meet students’ needs without incurring additional cost.

Comments in the proceeding are due November 3, 2016; reply comments are due December 5. (CC Docket No. 02-6; WC Docket 10-90; WC Docket No. 13-184)