California School District Gets EBS Waiver From FCC
The FCC Wireless Bureau granted the Monterey County Superintendent of Schools (MCSS) a waiver of the FCC filing freeze on new educational broadband service applications for four new EBS channels in the Salinas, California, area. MCSS also sought a waiver…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
of the electronic filing requirement for such applications to permit it to use available EBS channels to operate an LTE network, said the order in Tuesday's Daily Digest. “In its [July] application, MCSS explains that it seeks a regular authorization to construct and operate a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to provide ‘broadband educational services to underserved students and MCSS faculty and staff." The bureau noted Salinas ranks below national and California averages for the percentage of the population with a high school degree or higher. “Application of the filing freeze would be inequitable and contrary to the public interest under the unique circumstances presented by MCSS,” the bureau said. “Absent access to the additional channel of EBS spectrum, MCSS would face substantial challenges in providing educational content to all of the members of its school community, including underserved students, faculty and administrators.” The bureau Tuesday granted a similar waiver to the Kings County Superintendent of Schools (KCSS) in Kings County, California. “Based on the comparison of certain metrics from before and after the construction and deployment of the existing KCSS wireless broadband network, and the provision of devices and broadband services to students, KCSS has found that student suspensions and failures have decreased, the number of students being promoted and making the honor roll has increased, the number of high school students taking and passing college level courses has increased, and there has been significant improvement in student reading and math proficiency,” said a second order.