Schools/Universities

Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel revealed just how soon she hopes to set up the $7 billion subsidy program aimed at helping students get internet connections at home. Congress slated this money for the FCC as part of the pandemic relief package that President Joe Biden signed into law in march. The FCC is still “mid-course in developing” the program for doling out these subsidies, which could help put Wi-Fi hotspots and modems in the hands of students stuck at home, said Chairman Rosenworcel.

The COVID crisis has highlighted both the severity of the so-called "homework gap" and the shortcomings of early remedies like mobile hotspots and even low-cost home broadband plans. Now, more than a year into the pandemic, schools and cities across the country are increasingly testing novel ways to get students connected, not just for the duration of the pandemic, but for the long term.

Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA-06) and Jim Langevin (D-RI-02) sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, urging him to issue guidance that will allow K-12 schools to make investments in increased cybersecurity measures. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA) Act both included funding streams to support school operations during the pandemic.

Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel offered measured confidence about expanding broadband connectivity in schools following the pandemic. Addressing a virtual roundtable meeting of local officials from around Maryland, Chairwoman Rosenworcel promoted a trio of programs funded by Congress and the FCC aimed at improving connectivity for disadvantaged schools and communities.

There is no shortage of options for immediate and long-term funding for K-12 home connectivity solutions.

FOR LONG TERM K-12 FUNDING:

The Federal Communications Commission has a new $7 billion pot for schools to recoup the costs of paying for student and teacher access to broadband at home — and now the agency must figure out how to distribute the money. Here are six critical issues that companies keeping track of the FCC program should watch for:

1. What Devices and Services Will Be Eligible?

2. Will Purchases From 2020 Be Eligible?

3. How Will Procurement Work?

The digital divide leaves millions without access to high-speed broadband and the immense opportunities it provides. I’m proud to say that we have secured a historic broadband investment in the American Rescue Plan. First, $10 billion for broadband deployment and infrastructure, digital inclusion and other efforts to close the digital divide. These funds represent one of the most important broadband investments ever made in the history of the United States.

To help schools and libraries provide devices and connectivity to students, school staff, and library patrons during the pandemic, Congress established a $7.171 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund as part of the recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the American Rescue Plan or Act). Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate rules providing for the distribution of funding from the Emergency Connectivity Fund to eligible schools and libraries for the purchase of eligible equipment and advanced telecommunications and information services for use by stud

There are estimated 12 million students who, according to a recent analysis, lack internet service or make do with a patchwork of short-term fixes to participate in remote learning. Their issues are regionally specific, from a lack of broadband in the isolated reaches of Appalachia to worn-out and obsolete devices distributed to poor families on Chicago’s South Side.

A growing number of school districts across the country, spurred in part by the coronavirus pandemic, are going into the cell tower business. Many school districts have tried for years to provide internet service to needy families with mixed success.