March 2007 — News
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Report: E-Rate Brings Communications to 90 Percent of Low-Income Schools
3/5/2007—Last week the Education and Libraries Networks Coalition (EdLiNC) and the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training (NCTET) released a report detailing the impact of E-Rate 10 years and $19 billion later. The study showed a dramatic increase in access to communications technologies in schools and libraries. But the study also concluded that the mission of E-Rate is not yet complete.
Adopted in 1997 as an amendment to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, E-Rate expanded the universal access fund to include Internet access support for schools and libraries, providing discounts for telecommunications technologies, with an annual cap of $2.25 billion. Since its formal launch in 1998, E-Rate has provided some $19 billion in discounted services to schools and libraries.
The new report, "E-Rate: 10 Years of Connecting Kids and Community," showed several positive outcomes from E-Rate, including:
- The ability for all public libraries to offer free Internet access to their communities;
- An increase in the percentage of American classrooms that have Internet access, from 14 percent in 1996 to 95 percent in 2005 (overall);
- In rural, low-income, and high-minority school districts, more than 90 percent of classrooms have Internet access; and
- 2,800 private schools have also benefited from E-Rate.
"As this report clearly shows, just a decade after E-Rate first began, more people than ever before are reaping the benefits of the information age," said Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV), one of the authors of the provision, in a prepared statement. "E-Rate has made technology and the Internet accessible for our students, our teachers, and people of all ages through our local libraries. Thanks to E-Rate, we are quickly advancing toward a world where the digital divide will no longer exist."
But the mission of E-Rate is not yet concluded. Said Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), another author of the provision, "Information is the key to education and to keeping America competitive in an increasingly global economy. The E-Rate program began a decade ago to provide communities' public libraries and schools with the communications tools and resources necessary to share information and educate America's children. While the first 10 years of the E-Rate have helped schools and libraries upgrade and build their technology infrastructure, maintaining and upgrading these public institutions will require a continued effort and continued support of the program. Today's report outlines how essential the E-Rate is to our country's future."
