Anticipate Future Digital Demands to Set E-rate Program Funding Policy, Stakeholders Say
Groups representing schools and libraries want the FCC to future-proof E-rate funding that supports indoor connections for schools and libraries, they said in comments posted to docket 13-184 through Wednesday on the program's category 2 modernization and eligible services list.…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Per-pupil funding for E-rate category 2 should be increased from $125 to $250 or more, the Education and Libraries Networks Coalition said: "As schools, school districts and libraries integrate more digital resources, it will only continue to drive increased demand for bandwidth and internal connections." It wants the USF program to establish a fixed five-year budget cycle for category 2 spending to replace the current rolling budget focused on individual applicants. It supports a transition to school-district-wide and library-system-wide budgets but said private and independent schools should be able to apply on their own. Funds for Learning said schools and libraries should be able to self-determine what data infrastructure components they need, and none should be determined ineligible. It also said in separate comments it wants to eliminate E-rate category 2 subcategories, which can be confusing to program participants. The American Library Association said it supports making funding eligible for content filtering and more robust network security.