Schools and libraries have an enormous window of opportunity to help their students and patrons obtain affordable internet access. At the end of this month, the Federal Communications Commission will open a 45-day filing window for the Emergency Connectivity Fund program, which will make $7.17 billion available to fund broadband service and devices off-campus. Although the FCC’s E-rate program has supported broadband services to and within school and library premises, the new Emergency Connectivity Fund leverages the E-rate application process to let schools and libraries connect their students, staff, and patrons at home. Speaking at a virtual workshop hosted by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel described the Emergency Connectivity Fund as “the largest single effort in our nation’s history to make sure students have access to the broadband and devices they need for school...so that kids who have been locked out of the virtual classroom can now go online for class and do their nightly schoolwork. Plus, it will make it possible for libraries nationwide to offer their patrons, including students, new ways to go online and bring connectivity home.” There are several significant reasons why schools and libraries should apply for Emergency Connectivity Fund support:

• The support covers broadband services and devices for use off-campus.
• The program will reimburse 100 percent of the costs associated with purchasing eligible services and equipment (no matching contribution is required).
• The program adopts the SHLB Coalition’s “to and through” approach to deploying broadband (in areas where no commercially available broadband service exists).

In 2021, a household of four requires 131/73 Mbps of bandwidth and will grow to 2,141/2,044 Mbps by 2030. This makes today’s definition of broadband speeds unusable, as the Federal Communications Commission currently defines broadband as a mere 25/3 Mbps for Americans. This antiquated definition of broadband affect the rural populations the most. 62% of the most rural areas have the lowest-performing broadband with speeds for the lowest quantile at 4/1 Mbps. To eliminate the rural digital divide, attention and investment should be placed on the most effective rural broadband infrastructure. There is no communications medium nearly as effective or future-proof as fiber optics. Fiber’s transmission capacity can be increased almost infinitely as needed to supply any level of bandwidth. Fiber is immune to electrical interference and requires fewer powered nodes, enabling it to serve as the most consistent and reliable technology option. Additionally, the cost to operate a fiber-to-the-home system is lower than other broadband methods.