On August 4, 2016 the FCC released their 12th Annual Broadband Progress NOI seeking stakeholder input from a number of sectors including the K-12 school and library community.
Here are some specific E-rate implications tied to this broadband NOI:
- In the E-rate Modernization Orders (E-rate 2.0) the Commission adopted two speed benchmarks for schools
- Short term speed benchmark of 100 Mbps per 1,000 students and staff
- Long-term speed benchmarks of 1Gbps per 1,000 students and staff
- The FCC reports that while the majority had reached the short-term benchmark, a significant percentage still had not and the vast majority of districts were not purchasing broadband services to satisfy the long-term speed benchmark
- The FCC would like comment on having them retain those benchmarks
- The FCC also seeks comment, however, on whether those standards ought to be updated and whether further proceedings are appropriate to revisit the standards for evaluating broadband deployment to American classrooms
- The Commission seeks comment on the continued use of FCC Form 471 for this type of analysis
- The FCC seeks any additional data sources that they should consider to evaluate deployment of services in elementary and secondary schools and they invite interested parties to submit their analyses of FCC Form 471 data to help inform our deployment analysis
Comment Date: September 6, 2016
Reply Comment Date: September 21, 2016
