While there’s been plenty of discussion
about providing high-speed Internet access to all students, there’s not been as
much talk about how much that might cost. Research from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and the EducationSuperHighway puts
the figure at about $3.2 billion.
The total includes the cost of purchasing,
installing, and maintaining equipment to meet classroom needs for local area
network (LAN), wide-area network (WAN), and WiFi. CoSN and
EducationSuperHighway surveyed 50 district chief technology officers, equipment
vendors, and networking experts to come up with per-classroom, per-school, and
per-district cost estimates.
“This is the first time that we have come
out with an actual number,” Evan Marwell, CEO of EducationSuperHighway, told
EdSurge.
“It’s based on an actual analysis rather than simply saying, ‘Let’s double the
pool of funds needed for more broadband.’”
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
recently reported it had already committed $450 million for broadband for schools and libraries.
It is also working on updating the E-rate policies that subsidize school and
library purchases of telecommunications services.
“We’re hearing that the FCC will do
something at the July meeting,” Marwell said. “Some issues have a lot of
consensus, such as focusing the [E-rate] money on broadband and phasing out
‘legacy services.’”
