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Survey finds ?Overwhelming Lack of Broadband in Classrooms?

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) yesterday released the results of its E-rate and broadband survey of K-12 schools around the country. The results were worse than anyone had anticipated. CoSN said:

“With more than 460 responses from 44 states, 43 percent of districts said none of their schools meet the broadband goal of 100Mbps of Internet access per 1,000 students today.”

CoSN, a DC-based association for school system technology professionals, said they conducted the survey this past summer “to inform critical choices the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should make in the coming months regarding the E-rate program.”

It’s clear that schools need increased funding, if the country is to meet the technological challenges of the coming years. And that many lack the hardware right now. The survey found that the “average school network cannot support broadband due to poor and outdated internal connections / wiring, backbone in the school LAN and lack of sufficient wireless access points.” In fact, “Only 57 percent of elementary schools and 64 percent of secondary schools have all classrooms fully equipped with wireless Internet connectivity.”

Keith R. Krueger, CEO of CoSN. said:

“The survey documents the overwhelming need for investing in better school infrastructure, from broadband to wireless access to overall network design. This should be a wake-up call for the Federal Communications Commission to double the funding of the E-rate program and enable a digital learning environment for all students that meet the needs of today and tomorrow.”

Speed Matters fully supports updating the E-rate program to increase broadband capacity to our nation's schools.

CoSN Survey Highlights Need for Greater E-rate Funding and Overwhelming Lack of Broadband in Classrooms (Consortium for School Networking, Oct. 16, 2013)