Clyburn Asks FCC to Vote on E-rate NPRM at July Meeting
FCC acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn circulated an NPRM Friday, teed up for a vote at the commission’s July 19 meeting, examining a further overhaul of the USF E-rate program. The NPRM also comes in the wake of a June 6 speech by President Barack Obama urging the commission to make high-speed Internet available to enough schools and libraries to connect 99 percent of American students (CD June 7 p7).
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The NPRM will look at such issues as how the E-rate program can be revamped to meet the president’s goal that educational institutions be connected at a minimum broadband speed of at least 100 Mbps, as well as how services are purchased with an eye on program efficiency, FCC officials said Friday. The FCC meeting is Clyburn’s second at the helm of the agency. Also on the tentative agenda for July 19 is an order on telecom relay services and the 15th annual report on video competition, according to an FCC news release (http://fcc.us/17qf6Sk).
"Today, I am sharing a proposal with my fellow FCC Commissioners to modernize our E-rate program to ensure students and teachers have access to the best, most current learning technology. Earlier this month, President Obama called on the FCC to bring high-speed Internet to 99 percent of U.S. students within five years,” Clyburn said Friday in an emailed statement. “Today’s proposal answers that call to close our education system’s bandwidth gap by modernizing the E-Rate program and providing our schools and libraries with a path towards affordable access to high-speed broadband. I look forward to working with my colleagues as we proceed towards revitalizing this important program, long-championed by Senator [Jay] Rockefeller and Senator-elect [Ed] Markey.” Rockefeller chairs the Senate Commerce Committee. Most classrooms are now connected to the Internet, Clyburn said. “In 2010 we took a number of initial steps to cut red tape and help schools get faster speeds for less money,” she said. “But now, to ensure a robust future for our children, we must equip them with the necessary tools to compete and flourish in an increasingly global and high tech economy."
As examples of the kinds of issues the NPRM will raise, a senior FCC official cited use of broadband to provide students with the ability to take a foreign language remotely and the possibilities broadband offers for the education of students with disabilities. “All of these are game changers and you see it already happening in a few bright spots in the country ... but we have to make sure that every student in the U.S. has access to these opportunities,” the official said. E-rate has helped get some level of Internet service to almost 100 percent of U.S. classrooms, “but we also know that it’s time for an upgrade, a modernization of this program,” the official said.
The E-rate program dates to 1998 and has long been a favorite of some congressional Democrats. The original author of the E-rate program, Rockefeller, applauded Clyburn’s announcement. It’s an “important step ... toward beginning the process of updating the E-Rate program, so all students and teachers can access the transformative power of technology in their schools and libraries,” he said in a news release. “I look forward to working with the FCC on preserving and strengthening E-Rate as it holds the promise of a brighter future for our youngest generation.” Earlier this month, FCC Chairman nominee Tom Wheeler pledged to Rockefeller he would support the modernization of the program if confirmed by the Senate (CD June 19 p1).
"It is good to take a look at E-Rate,” said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld. “The FCC should regularly review all the tools at its disposal to try to enhance broadband everywhere -- in the home and in the classroom.” The “importance of publicly available broadband in libraries has only increased in recent years,” said Feld. “Used in conjunction with TV white spaces and other unlicensed spectrum potentially made available, broadband in schools and libraries can potentially help many of those without broadband in the home access the Internet.” The “one concern” from “some quarters” is “that we should shift support from Lifeline to E-Rate,” said Feld. “That would be exactly the wrong approach. Publicly accessible broadband in schools and libraries is an educational tool and a safety net for those without access, not a replacement for essential communication services. Hopefully, those waging an ill-considered campaign to undermine Lifeline will not try to hijack E-Rate for their purposes."
A former FCC official warned the notice could open the door for the FCC to expand the program. “The push from the Hill has been take it bigger and that has been met with a warm reception at the commission,” the official said. “I would look for E-rate to be expanded in the guise of making it more efficient.”