This week, a number of industry groups held conversations with the FCC asking for additional funding to offset costs associated with upgrades to Internet connectivity due to spikes in demand. The State E-rate Coordinators’ Alliance (SECA) estimates that an additional $68.9 to $103.4 million in E-rate funds would be needed to fund on-campus bandwidth increases, with 10 to 15% of applicants doubling their current bandwidth. The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB) notes:
The increasing use of tablets and laptops by students at home increases the traffic running over school networks, and schools urgently need to acquire additional bandwidth to avoid congestion and interruptions to online learning. All of this new Internet bandwidth could not have been anticipated when schools competitively bid and requested E-rate funding 6-9 months ago.
