Education technology

As of 2021, roughly 13 percent of Alabama’s 1.65 million addresses were unserved by broadband of at least 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload (25/3), while about 19 percent of addresses were unserved by 100/20 service—the threshold recommended as the state’s five-year target to align with new federal funding opportunities. Higher-speed services like 100/100 and symmetrical 1 Gbps were available only to about 25 percent of addresses.

The Federal Communications Commission committed over $30 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country. These funding commitments support applications from all three application windows, benefiting approximately 75,000 students across the country, including students in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Nevada—and will fund applications from all three application windows that will support over 200 schools, 15 libraries, and 1 consortium.

The Federal Communications Commission is committing over $40 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country. These funding commitments support applications from the third application window, benefiting approximately 100,000 students across the country, including students in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin. This announcement will fund applications from the third application window that will support over 275 schools, 15 libraries, and 5 consortia.

Federal Communications Commissioner Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that using the E-rate program to subsidize mobile hotspot devices is a “great idea” and that there may be some activity on that front in the future. The chairwoman was fielding a comment from a mayor of a Texas city, who said that his jurisdiction has a program that lends out connectivity hubs – allowing others to connect to the device – in parts of the town for residents seeking internet. He asked whether that’s something that the FCC could fund.

On Thursday, December 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (H.R. 2617). Most importantly, the government funding package, which includes all 12 fiscal year 2023 appropriations bills, keeps the federal government running through September 30, 2023.

The Federal Communications Commission is the lead U.S.

The Federal Communications Commission committed nearly $54 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.

One pandemic-era program demonstrated that Chicago can solve big inequities with a spirit of partnership and the right resources. Since launching in June 2020, Chicago Connected, the country’s most comprehensive internet connectivity program for students,  has served nearly one in three CPS students — more than 100,000 students in 60,000 households. In a new report, Kids First Chicago (K1C) found the connectiv

President Joe Biden has pledged that every American will have access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet. Digital equity—devices, skills and affordability that bring the internet to life—are a critical part of that mission. As part of that work, the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the acceptance of applications under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, subject to the availability of funding.

While students around the country are back in school in person this year, the connection between education and high-speed internet hasn’t been severed. Students still turn in assignments online and interact with class material through learning management systems, and they may even stream their lessons. The support services that are becoming critical for education—from health screenings to tutoring sessions—are also often delivered online. And that means, more than ever, getting an education requires access to fast, reliable internet.