FCC Votes to Provide Wi-Fi to Schools, Libraries

[Bob Of Burleson]

Funding in E-Rate Program Will Be Shifted From Older Technologies

By Gautham Nagesh
The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—A divided Federal Communications Commission voted Friday to overhaul a federal program that connects schools and libraries to the Internet, spending $1 billion annually to help them deploy Wi-Fi networks.

The commission voted 3-2 along party lines to approve a proposal from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler that would shift funding in the E-Rate program from aging technologies such as pagers and landline phones to high-speed broadband and Wi-Fi networks. Mr. Wheeler said the changes would expand by millions the number of children with access to the Internet.

"Technology has changed, the needs of students and library users have changed, and now E-Rate has changed," Mr. Wheeler said. "No responsible business would stick with an IT plan developed in 1998."

All five commissioners agreed on the need to update E-Rate. But they disagreed strongly on the method for doing so, prompting Republican dissent.

The FCC plans to spend $1 billion annually to expand Wi-Fi networks at schools and libraries, with money coming from unspent funding reserves for the first two years. From year three, the FCC expects that savings from phased-out technologies will account for most of Wi-Fi funds.

The vote also set the stage for the FCC to increase the program's annual funding later this year, which has been capped at $2.25 billion since the program's inception in 1998.

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