The recent ruling by the Federal Communication
Commission (FCC) on net neutrality created more questions than answers for
education, according to Jeff Livingston, senior vice president of education
policy for McGraw-Hill Education. His biggest concern is how the bandwidth needed
to accommodate a more interactive and digital way of learning will be provided
and at what cost.
“What we are most interested in with net
neutrality and this conversation is in making certain those educational uses
that are essential to a really important public purpose are not de-prioritized
in favor of bigger and better entertainment solutions,” Livingston told eCampus News.
The FCC ruling does not specifically mention
the needs of education. That is an issue for Livingston, who is concerned it
could eventually pit the bandwidth needs of digital content with the public’s
desire to access their games and movies faster.
“Now, if the final rulings do come out and
there is not an explicit prioritization of education, I believe you will
definitely hear a lot more from educational institutions than we’ve heard this
far,” he said. “Frankly, they fully expect it to be OK—but I just want to make
sure.”