New rules help to accelerate FCC National Broadband Plan goals, recognize critical role of R&E networks in delivering advanced broadband to schools and libraries

EDUCAUSE, Internet2, National LambdaRail and The Quilt join research and education networking organizations across the U.S. in commending the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to expand broadband options for schools and libraries under E-rate rules.

Under the new rules, announced today, these institutions will now be able to use E-rate funds to acquire network dark fiber as well as lit services from nonprofit research and education (R&E) networks and local governments as well as designated commercial providers.
 
By allowing access to modern telecommunications and information services under E-Rate rules, these important institutions and the millions of U.S. citizens they serve will not only be able to acquire more broadband capacity for their money, but the money—awarded under the FCC E-rate program—will also stretch much further, funding a greater number of services for a greater number of schools and libraries.

The changes remove constraints institutions experienced under the old rules; they provide the flexibility institutions need to make forward-looking decisions and enable life-changing networking applications for their communities. The FCC order also enables institutions to take advantage of network fiber and service providers, both commercial and nonprofit. The E-rate changes complement investments from federal network infrastructure programs such as the Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program at the Department of Commerce, among others.

“The FCC’s forward thinking in re-evaluating the E-rate rules has brought the nation a major step closer to realizing its vision – as articulated in the National Broadband Plan - of providing one Gigabit-per-second connections to some of the most important institutions in our nation, wherever they may be located,” said Carol Willis, manager of the Texas Education Telecommunications Network (TETN). “In addition, we are pleased that the FCC recognizes the critical role that the research and education networking community plays in providing the unique resources that anchor institutions need today as well as in building a scalable environment for the future.”