Bad Connection

President Barack Obama launched a new initiative called ConnectED, which aims to bring similar next-generation connectivity to classrooms across America in the next five years. It’s a great idea. But Obama’s proposal leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The biggest unknown is perhaps the most important: funding.

How the money is spent and where it comes from will determine not only whether the program meets its benchmarks but also whether it really helps ensure that “every child in America’s classrooms has access to the fastest Internet and the most cutting-edge learning tools.” The Administration has indicated that it will let the Federal Communications Commission figure out those details. ConnectED would be part of the FCC’s E-Rate program, which provides subsidies to broadband providers to offer discounted service to schools and libraries. E-Rate, in turn, is part of the Universal Service Fund, which administers several programs to bring better access to telecommunications services across the country, especially in low-income, rural, insular, and high-cost areas. One challenge is that the program needs to ensure that schools upgrade to technology that won’t become obsolete in just a few years, like cable or wireless. Fiber is the only option that remains largely future-proof: It’s already capable of gigabit speeds and more readily scalable than other technologies to meet future demands.