Bulletins

Since the dawn of the internet, there's been much talk about the digital divide – the gap between those with access to the internet and those without. But what about the "homework gap"?

Remarks of Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Federal Communications Commission Texas Computer Education Association Austin, Texas February 4, 2015.

PRESIDENT OBAMA's domestic agenda, which he announced in his State of the Union address this month, has a lot to like: health care, maternity leave, affordable college. But there was one thing he got wrong. As part of his promise to educate American children for an increasingly competitive world, he vowed to "protect a free and open Internet" and "extend its reach to every classroom and every community."

Washington, D.C. – Broadband deployment in the United States – especially in rural areas – is failing to keep pace with today’s advanced, high-quality voice, data, graphics and video offerings, according to the 2015 Broadband Progress Report adopted today by the Federal Communications Commission.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the E-rate Modernization Order on July 11, 2014. The Order takes major steps to modernize and streamline the E-rate program and focuses on expanding funding for Wi-Fi networks in eligible elementary and secondary schools and libraries across America. In the Second Modernization Order, adopted on Dec. 11, 2014, the FCC took significant additional steps to ensure that the nation’s schools and libraries have access to robust high-speed broadband connections. In an accompanying Order on Reconsideration, the FCC modified its urban/rural definition, effective in funding year 2015, so that an individual school and library will be designated as "urban" if located in an "Urbanized Area" or "Urban Cluster" with a population of 25,000 or more as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Any school or library not designated "urban" will be designated as "rural" and would be eligible to receive an additional discount. The Order retains the current rule that any school district or library system must have a majority of schools or libraries in a rural area that meets the new urban/rural definition to qualify for the additional rural discount.

The FCC Form 471 application filing window for Funding Year 2015 will open at noon EST on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 and will close at 11:59 pm EDT on Thursday, March 26, 2015. The filing window will be open for 72 days.

Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Mechanism - Reserve Funding.

Next month, the Federal Communications Commission will consider a proposal from its chairman, Tom Wheeler, that would raise taxes on phone lines by a modest 16 cents a month to make sure that every public school and library has reliable and fast Internet connections. The commissioners should vote yes.

This memorandum notifies State agencies and local program operators of recently updated rules issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the calculation of discount rates under the E-Rate program for schools electing the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

WASHINGTON — With a goal of fiber-optic lines reaching to every school and a Wi-Fi connection in every classroom, Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is expected on Monday to propose a 62 percent increase in the amount of money the agency spends annually to wire schools and libraries with high-speed Internet connections.