Why Alabama plans to use schools, libraries to fill broadband coverage gaps

The issue of broadband connectivity in rural areas of Alabama has become a bigger item on the state's agenda in 2015. Gov Robert Bentley (R-AL) instituted a number of changes in 2015 to jumpstart the process of expanding the high-speed Internet service throughout the state. By working with 35 school districts across the state, the Office of Broadband Development will use the Federal Communication Commission's E-rate Modernization Order, which makes it possible for schools and libraries to construct and operate their own fiber networks.

The Office of Broadband Development hasn't been able to put a figure on how much broadband expansion will cost, but Director Kathy Johnson said they are approaching it in the most cost-effective way possible. The districts will make competitive bids, and if their needs qualify as more cost-effective than lit services, they can take advantage of the match-rate program. "Through this program, if the state will help pay required match, the FCC will kick in an additional 10 percent, making it possible for schools and libraries to build and own their fiber network that is paid for up to 90 percent with federal funds," Johnson said. "This offer was made available due to the high cost of getting adequate connectivity to schools and libraries."Johnson said this strategy works because Internet service providers encounter steep deployment costs and poor investment returns when expanding broadband into rural areas. That, combined with how teaching methods are becoming more digital with students using mobile devices, shows how schools and libraries could make for more accessible broadband in the future. "The E-rate opportunity for constructing fiber networks to schools and libraries is one such area that, with minimal state investment, will provide more affordable fiber to schools and libraries with sufficient growth opportunities for many years to come," she said.