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As summer vacation approaches, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving forward on its plans to bring next-generation Internet connectivity to schools and libraries across the country. Big changes are likely coming in the next few months that will shift the way that E-rate—a for schools and libraries under the Universal Service Fund—supports high-speed Internet access.

The FCC has the E-rate program for over a year, officially opening up a in July 2013 to gather input on how to modernize the program to meet the growing connectivity needs of schools and libraries. President Obama has made it a priority too, into his Administration’s (along with teacher training through the Department of Education to help incorporate digital tools into classroom learning) and address. In March, the FCC picked up the issue once again, releasing a with a focused set of questions on the best path forward to direct money toward high-speed Internet access for the 2015 funding year. Several hundred constituent groups weighed in on the process, including ¹ú²úÊÓƵ’s Open Technology Institute and Education Policy Program.

We outlined a last fall based on the idea that the program should be updated to better support libraries and schools in their roles as . In the , we focused on two of those areas in greater detail: providing funding for high-speed connectivity both to and within schools and libraries, and and transparency to create a program that is more efficient and better understood. Our comments include recommendations about how the FCC should use additional funding to support the capital investment costs required to bring high-capacity broadband (which in the vast majority of cases) to schools and libraries, and how to restructure the existing program to provide better support for high-speed wireless networks within and beyond institutional walls. We also urge the FCC to improve its data collection and application processes to get better information about speeds and prices and to make that data available to E-rate applicants, researchers, and the public to improve program evaluation. These are common sense but also forward-looking ideas that would make the E-rate program more efficient and more effective in the future. Ultimately, we believe these efforts will help ensure that all students, families, and community members have access to the educational resources needed to develop 21st century skills.

Read the full text of ¹ú²úÊÓƵ’s latest and on E-rate modernization.