E-rate Tops Wheeler’s Agenda, He Says, Touting Upcoming Reforms
E-rate modernization is “at the top of my agenda,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told the Digital Learning Day conference at the Library of Congress Wednesday. “During my tenure as chairman of the FCC there will be no bigger and more significant issue than making sure our schools and libraries are connected to high-speed broadband networks.” A public notice due out in the coming weeks will seek comment on “how to appropriately phase out legacy services, including low-bandwidth connections, and reprioritize on broadband,” Wheeler said. “My goal is to have this process completed before students return to classrooms in the fall.” One former agency chairman called Wheeler’s speech the “most important” chairman’s speech about schools and libraries ever delivered.
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Wheeler outlined ways to change E-rate: “The current program, for instance, penalizes schools that apply jointly with other schools. Because their applications are more complex, they often take longer to resolve. Henceforth they will be prioritized. We can start fixing that immediately.” Consortia and joint applications also tend to get better prices for equipment and services by buying in bulk -- making existing funds go further, he said. A proposed order in the works for a spring release will let the commission “move forward with fundamental structural and administrative changes” to E-rate that would take effect in 2015, Wheeler said. He reiterated the agency’s commitment to provide an additional $2 billion to expand high-speed connections to schools over the next two years (CD Feb 4 p7).
"When we put tablets and notebooks on each student’s desk, we take a huge step towards vaulting the digital divide,” Wheeler said. “Not only are students connecting to the educational assets that will help them grow, but they're also developing the computer literacy tools necessary for 21st century jobs,” he said. Wheeler cited a letter he received from 50 corporate heads including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Dell Inc. CEO Michael Dell, that described E-rate as an essential tool for America’s competitiveness.
Wheeler also touted the importance of libraries. It’s where a majority of students go to do their homework, he said, and for many students, it’s their only link to the Internet outside of school. That’s particularly important when more than three quarters of K-12 teachers are assigning Internet-requiring homework, he said. “Libraries are also the only place where tens of millions of adult Americans can get access to the Internet for information on jobs, healthcare and government services,” he said. “We should restructure the program in a way that results in a process that effectively targets high-capacity connections to all libraries and schools.”
"This is the most important and best speech by a FCC chairman about libraries and schools ever,” said former Chairman Reed Hundt in an interview. Hundt revamped the E-rate program in the mid-90s and now advises the Urban Libraries Council. “Wheeler has described a network architecture that basically says to libraries and schools, ‘You're going to get business class instead of economy class.’ That’s not how it’s ever been.” A third of libraries don’t get any E-rate money at all, Hundt said: For many libraries, the amount of money they're likely to get is less than the expense and trouble of applying. “To have it be ‘all’ are going to have high-capacity connections and high-speed Wi-Fi? That’s a big deal.”
"This is a CEO’s speech,” Hundt said. It’s the “most significant recognition of the role of libraries as a public Internet access point of any FCC chair. … I'm exulting.” He praised the targeted public notice Wheeler spoke of, which will let everyone reach “agreement on the goals before we worry about the money.” A lot of the comments filed in response to the NPRM called for more money, but Wheeler wants to focus on goals first and talk about the money later, Hundt said. “That’s brilliant, and really important,” and it means that the increased 2014 spending that’s been announced is “just a first step."
Telecom associations and school and library groups praised Wheeler’s speech. “These new investments will produce dividends for years to come,” said Telecommunications Industry Association President Grant Seiffert. The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition said it welcomed Wheeler’s “visionary statement in favor of re-prioritizing the E-rate program on broadband.” USTelecom President Walter McCormick said Wheeler had outlined “important principles” for modernizing E-rate to reflect the importance of broadband to education. CenturyLink commended Wheeler and the Obama administration “for their commitment to making the E-rate program more effective and efficient.”