upgrade them periodically to the latest standards.”
These numbers will come in handy as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updates its policies for the
E-rate program. On May 8, the FCC boasted that the E-rate
program had already committed $450 million for broadband in schools and libraries, which it says is “six times the
amount approved at this time last year.”
The $3.2 billion may seem like a big tab. But the earlier
that K-12 schools invest in high-speed fiber networks, the
earlier they will get more bandwidth at lower prices. “Invest
today, save tomorrow,” says Marwell, who breaks down the
numbers for two schools in Michigan that recently made
the switch: One was spending $11,700 per year for 3 Mbps
of bandwidth. After spending $25,000 for a fiber connection, the school is now getting 1 Gbps for $3,000 a year.
Another school was getting 1.5 Mbps for $6,000 a year; after
spending $15K for a fiber network, it is now receiving 1
Gbps for $2,000 a year.
“On average, we think the time that it takes for the savings to make up the cost for installing fiber is less than five
years, and in some cases will be a lot faster than that.”
A more contentious issue is finding ways to lower the
cost of broadband for schools. One solution that Marwell
believes would be incredibly effective — but also difficult to
implement— is to increase schools’ options for bandwidth
providers.
One way to help schools on this front, says Marwell, is to
provide information that helps them negotiate better deals
with telecommunications vendors. To this end, the EducationSuperHighway is asking schools to share what they
currently pay for bandwidth as part of an Internet Pricing
Portal, which will allow school IT administrators to see how
good of a deal they are getting.
Marwell has reported that the top 5 percent of schools
that have negotiated the best price for their bandwidth pay
a bit more than $2 per megabit per month. The median
school pays more than tenfold that price — about $25 per
megabit per month to get Internet access to classrooms.
And that means that some schools’ bills are more than $100
per megabits per month.
“Rather than saying, ‘Hey company, you should charge
less,’ we think the right way is to educate the consumers,”
says Marwell.
Tony Wan is the Managing Editor at EdSurge and oversees
all web and newsletter content.
essentials | www.edmarket.org 30