Overwhelming School Wi-Fi Systems:
The New York Times published a cautionary tale on the growing demand for, and the need to control, Wi-Fi bandwidth within schools. The article noted that New York City had lifted a long-held ban on student cellphone use in their school buildings last year. The resulting demand for bandwidth has been striking, not necessarily — and in some cases, most certainly not — for instructional purposes.
The report focuses on one particular NYC school that had asked its students not to use the network and had been “booting interlopers off, one by one, and blocking their devices from the network.” Password protection, however, was turning out to provide only temporary fixes “because the kids will figure it out within days.”
The story points out the need for the ongoing management of Wi-Fi systems. Fortunately, third-party Managed Wi-Fi is now an eligible E-rate service under Category 2.
Form 486 Deadlines for January–February:
The Form 486 deadline for certifying the start of service (and CIPA compliance, if applicable) is 120 days from the later of the FCDL approval date or the start of service date. The remaining January and February deadlines (adjusted to Monday when the 120-day deadline falls on a Saturday) for approved FY 2015 applications are:
Wave 18 01/25/2016 (today!)
Wave 19 01/29/2016
Wave 20 02/05/2016
Wave 21 02/15/2016
Wave 22 02/19/2016
Wave 23 02/26/2016
Invoice Deadline for FY 2014 NRCs:
The invoice deadline for non-recurring charges (“NRCs”) is January 28, 2016 (i.e., 120 days after September 30, 2015, the last date to receive such services for FY 2014). Because Priority 2 services were not funded at any discount level for FY 2014, this invoice deadline applies only to installation-like charges for Priority 1 services. Requests to USAC to extend this invoice deadline must be made by January 28th, the deadline itself.