Schools weigh in on national broadband plan

To help provide broadband access to more citizens, the Federal Communications Commission should expand the eligible uses of e-Rate discounts to include after-school programs and community centers, many school leaders and education groups say -- but only if the $2.25 billion-a-year funding cap also is raised.

The federal stimulus package that Congress passed last year directed the FCC to submit a National Broadband Plan to lawmakers by Feb. 17, but FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has asked for a one-month extension so the agency can comb through the vast number of public comments it has received over the past year as it has gathered input on how to make universal broadband a reality. Several dozen of those comments come from education stakeholders, who responded to the FCC's call for feedback on how it might leverage the e-Rate in its national plan. The e-Rate provides telecommunications discounts of up to 90 percent for eligible schools and libraries, based on the percentage of students they serve who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and whether they are considered in an urban or rural area.

Under current program rules, schools applying for discounts cannot use e-Rate funded equipment to deliver Internet access to their communities, either by acting as an Internet service provider or by opening their facilities to the public after school. Relaxing these eligibility rules is an approach favored by several education stakeholders, including Albuquerque Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), AT&T, and the state of Alaska, among others.