Understanding E-rate 2 - eSchool News · Understanding E-rate 2.0 In a series of moves that mark...

1January/February 2015 • www.eSchoolNews.com

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Financial support from Meru Networks, Inc.http://merunetworks.com/erate

UnderstandingE-rate 2.0

In a series of moves that mark thebiggest changes to the E-rate program in its 17-year history, the Federal Communications

Commission has updated the nation’s school broadband

program for the wireless era.

Here’s what you need to know.

By Dennis Pierce

2 January/February 2015 • www.eSchoolNews.com

Special ReportSchools and libraries will have an

extra $1.5 billion per year to help themdeliver broadband access to students,thanks to new action taken by theFederal Communications Commission.

The agency’s Dec. 11 vote raises theannual funding cap for the E-rate pro-gram from $2.4 billion (adjusted forinflation) to $3.9 billion. Combinedwith earlier action taken in July, themove further positions E-rate as a wayto close troubling broadband accessgaps in U.S. schools.

According to a recent Consortium forSchool Networking survey, 57 percent ofK-12 chief technology officers believetheir networks aren’t robust enough tosupport digital learning—and 40 percentof classrooms don’t have Wi-Fi or otherbroadband access.

To address this problem, the FCC hasundertaken the largest reforms to E-ratein the program’s 17-year history. Theagency approved the first of thesesweeping changes on July 11.

Together, these actions transform theprogram in ways that will have a signif-icant impact on schools in 2015 andbeyond.

The changes will result in morefunding for the equipment needed toextend broadband access within schoolsand libraries, including routers, switch-es, wireless access points, wireless con-trollers, and other Wi-Fi equipment.What’s more, new rules aim to spreadthis funding to a much larger number ofapplicants, ensuring support for schoolsthat haven’t received E-rate discountson internal connections before.

However, the tradeoff for schools isthat E-rate support for voice-relatedservices is being phased out over thenext five years.

In this report, we’ll look at thesechanges in more detail and explain whatthey’ll mean for your schools.

More Wi-Fi supportUntil now, Wi-Fi and other internal

broadband connections were consideredPriority 2 services and were funded onlyafter all requests for Priority 1 services(telecommunications services and inter-net access) were met. However, that left

most schools without any E-rate fund-ing for internal connections.

The FCC’s Seventh Report andOrder, issued in July, changed thedescription of these services fromPriority 2 to Category 2. To spreadCategory 2 funding to the broadestnumber of applicants possible, the FCChas taken two key steps: (1) It has limit-ed the maximum discount on these serv-ices at 85 percent instead of 90 percent,and (2) it has capped the amount offunding that applicants can receive onthese services within a five-year period.

For schools, the cap amounts to $150per student on the pre-discount cost ofCategory 2 services over five years.

For instance, a school with 1,000 stu-dents that qualifies for a 60-percent dis-count could buy up to $150,000 in Wi-Fi equipment in the 2015 funding year,receiving $90,000 in E-rate discounts tooffset the cost—but then it would beineligible for further Category 2 supportfor the next four years.

To ensure that smaller schools can

buy the minimum amount of Wi-Fi gearthey need, the FCC created a “fundingfloor” of $9,200 per building. (Again,this refers to the pre-discount price ofequipment.)

So, a 60-percent discount schoolwith only 50 students would not be lim-ited to $7,500 in Category 2 servicesover five years; instead, it could spendup to $9,200 and receive up to $5,520 inE-rate support during this period.

The FCC has put a lot of thought intothese figures, taking into account boththe fair-market cost of reasonablyequipping classrooms with Wi-Fi andthe number of K-12 classrooms nation-wide—and the agency believes its cal-culations will extend Category 2 fund-ing to meet the needs of any school ordistrict.

Changes in eligibility ofequipment

The FCC’s Seventh Report andOrder transformed E-rate from atelecommunications program into abroadband program that focuses on thedelivery of high-speed internet serviceto and within school buildings.

To ensure enough money to meet thedemand for Wi-Fi and other internalconnections in the next five years, theFCC has made significant changes tothe kinds of services that are eligible forE-rate support.

For instance, the FCC intends tophase out funding for all voice-relatedservices over the next five years. E-mail, voice mail, and web hosting nolonger will be eligible for E-rate dis-counts beginning in the 2015 fundingyear.

Also ineligible now are all productsand services that fall under these cate-gories: circuit cards and components;interfaces, gateways, antennas, andservers; storage devices; video compo-nents; and data protection components,other than firewalls, uninterruptablepower supplies, and battery backups.

Caching servers, which store infor-mation locally so it can be accessedmore quickly, now will be E-rate-eligi-ble. The FCC views these devices astools to help school systems optimize


Schools and librarieswill have an extra

$1.5 billionper year to help themdeliver broadbandaccess to students,thanks to new actiontaken by the FederalCommunicationsCommission.

their network performance—resultingin “more efficient use of E-rate fund-ing,” the agency said.

Support for the basic maintenance ofinternal connections is still available aswell, but only if the equipment is eligi-ble under the new program rules—andonly if schools haven’t exceeded theirfive-year limit on Category 2 funding.

Because of this five-year cap, K-12technology leaders will have to thinkstrategically about their Wi-Fi needs—and they should look at purchasingequipment with a five-year life cycle inmind.

In its Dec. 11 action, the FCC votedto extend E-rate funding to dark fiber aswell. Dark fiber allows schools to leasefuture capacity without actually trans-mitting data until they need this capaci-ty, the agency explained—and it “can bean especially cost-effective option forsmaller, rural districts.”

Managed Wi-FiIn its Seventh Report and Order, the

FCC referred to a new category of servicethat is eligible for E-rate support: man-aged Wi-Fi, or “managed internal broad-band services” as the agency calls it.

Before, schools could apply for E-rate discounts only on the purchase ofrouters, switches, wireless accesspoints, and other internal connections,or on the basic maintenance of thisequipment. Now, the FCC’s new rulesallow schools to enter into contracts thatcall for Wi-Fi providers to install andmanage this equipment—and this full-service approach to wireless servicewould be E-rate eligible.

This change “will allow schools, forthe first time, to leverage E-rate dis-counts to outsource major aspects ofdelivering on-campus broadband con-nectivity,” said John Harrington, chiefexecutive officer of the E-rate consult-ing firm Funds For Learning. “This isanalogous to a school cafeteria consid-ering bids to manage their kitchen andserve students meals.”

These types of agreements “couldlead to improved network perform-ance,” Harrington added.

In explaining its decision, the FCC

said that managed Wi-Fi services “canprovide substantial benefits and costsavings to many schools and libraries,particularly small districts . . . withouta dedicated technology director avail-able to deploy and manage advanced[networks] quickly and efficiently.”

Managed Wi-Fi will be eligible forE-rate support as a Category 2 service,and although schools can enter intomultiyear contracts for this type of serv-ice, they would have to apply for E-ratefunding separately each year. “We willnot make multiyear commitments,” theFCC said.

Using the agency’s newly createdfunding cap of $150 per student on the

pre-discount cost of Category 2 servicesover a five-year period, schools wouldbe eligible to apply for E-rate discountson managed Wi-Fi services costing upto $30 per student, per year. “This isconsistent with the price of managedWi-Fi services in the market today,” theFCC said.

Only time will tell if managed Wi-Fiwill have mass appeal among K-12schools, Harrington said. But the factthat it’s E-rate eligible could give rise toa new market segment.

“At a minimum, school technologyleaders have been given the freedom toconsider these arrangements withoutsacrificing E-rate funding,” he noted.


Special Report


The FCC has put a lot of thought into these figures, taking into account both the fair-market costof reasonably equipping classrooms with Wi-Fi andthe number of K-12 classrooms nationwide.

With Meru, districts can connect students, devices, and apps with an intelligent, agile, and open network to support interactive educational content, lively collaborative sessions, online assessments, and other essential learning tools.

Learn about the latest updates to the E-Rate program and tap into Wi-Fi resources, including:

• Real-timeupdatestoE-Rateprogram

• E-Rate2.0SurvivalGuidee-book

• E-Rate2.0andWi-Fion-demandwebinar

• PersonCountySchoolsvideocasestudy

• Miami-DadeCountyPublicSchoolsvideocasestudy

• HowtogetstartedonE-Rate

Get Started

[email protected] 1.877.952.6725 www.merunetworks.com/erate

Engaging the digital generation. Bringing math and science to life. Meeting online assessment requirements. Personalizing lessons to all learning styles and levels. Improving collaboration and critical thinking skills. Eliminating the digital divide. Preparing students for college and career. With the benefits clear and the demand strong from parents, K-12 school districts of all sizes across the U.S. are forging ahead with digital learning initiatives.

Intelligent Wi-Fi is the Foundation of Digital Learning

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Bringing 1:1 Learning to Kids in North Carolina

A 1:1 learning program has improved access to learning opportunitiesfor4,600studentsinPersonCounty,justaquickdrivenorthfromDurham,N.C.Butaftertheinitialrollout,thepopularityofmobiledevicesquicklyoutstrippedtheclassroomnetworks’ability to support rich media, collaborative learning and online assessments.

“WhenyoucountalltheLenovolaptops,iPads,ande-readers,thereareactuallymorewirelessdevicesthanstudentsinthedistrict,”saysAshleyCooper,directoroftechnology,testingandstudentinformationatPersonCountySchoolDistrict.“Mostofthedeviceswepurchasedoverthelastfouryearswere2.4GHz.Thatbecameamajorissue.”

TeachersrushedtobethefirsttogettheirclassesconnectedtotheWi-Fi,andascongestion grew throughout the day, teachers were forced to abandon their digital lessonplans.“Wehadapredicament,”saysCooper.“Connectivitywasahugeissueandwehadtofixit.Wehadtolookforasolutionthatwouldresolveourissuesnowandatthesametime,setusupforthenextfiveyears.”

FundingthewirelessLANthroughtheFCCE-Rateprogrammeantthatpricewasthetopconsideration,butPersonCountylearnedthatbuyingaWi-Fisolutiontomeetabudgetcanresultinapooruserexperience.Foritsupgradeto802.11ac,thedistrictlookedforthemostaffordableandbestwirelessLANsolution,andthenfundedasmuchaspossiblethroughE-Rateuntilitisrolledoutcompletely.

Withan802.11acMeruEducationGrade(MEG)network,learningisnolongerinterrupted. “We do classroom assessments, district benchmark assessments, and all thestateassessmentsthatareallowableonline,”saysCooper.

A Massive Commitment to 1:1 in Miami-Dade County

Morethan340,000studentsattendMiami-DadeCountySchools,thefourthlargestdistrictintheU.S.Withacommitmenttoprovidingeducationalexcellence,thedistrictisleveragingdigitallearningtoprepare its highly diverse student community for college, career and lifeinthe21stcentury.

“Our1:1initiativeisreallywhatwecalla‘digitalconversion.’We’retakinginstructionfromthetraditionalteacherlecturingtheclasstoapersonalized,collaborativeanddifferentiatedlearningprogram,”saidDebbieKarcher,CIO,Miami-DadeCountyPublicSchools.

DistrictadministratorsleveragedE-Ratefundingtoexpandthe1:1programacrossevenmoregradelevels.Miami-Dade’sMEGnetworknowsupports150,000students,andwhentherolloutiscomplete,itwillconnectallstudentsandteachersin392schools.

Miami-DadealsousesMeruConnecttoautomatenetworkaccessfordistrict-ownedandguestdevices.Offeringself-servicenetworkaccesseliminatesIThassleswhileupholding strong security based on established policies.

Intelligent Wi-Fi for Uninterrupted Learning

Successfullearningintheclassroommeansconnectingstudents,devicesandapps—everytime,withoutfail.Meru’sintelligentwirelessnetworksolutionprovidesthefast, reliable connectivity that schools need to support learning today. And, like many schooldistricts,PersonCountyandMiami-DadeobtainedfundingfromtheE-RateprogramtosubsidizetheirwirelessLANpurchases,startingwiththeschoolswiththegreatest need. READ E-RATE SURVIVAL GUIDE EBOOK - www.merunetworks.com/gated-pages/erate-wi-fi-survival-guide.html

The Meru Education-grade (MEG) solution solves schools’ 1:1 and BYOD challenges by supporting learning-essential applications. With MEG, schools can:

1. Onboard1:1andBYODdevicesquicklyandprovidesecurenetworkaccessmappedtoITpolicies.

2. Connectall1:1andBYODdevicesreliabilityanywhere on campus.

3. Learn by deploying validated learning applicationsonmobiledevicesovertheMEGwireless.

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Ensure uninterrupted learning with an intelligent wireless LAN that makes it easy for students to connect.

“We will be do-ing more online testing and using digital textbooks, and with our Meru network, we are prepared.”

— Ashley Cooper Person County School District

READ THE CASE STUDY

www.merunetworks.com/collateral/case-studies/person-county-school-

district-improves-learning-with-80211ac-wifi-cs.pdf

“The Meru Wi-Fi network has worked extremely well to support our 1:1 learning objectives and it continues to scale and meet our require-ments. Meru is rock-solid.”

— Debbie Karcher, Miami-Dade County

Public Schools

READ THE CASE STUDY

www.merunetworks.com/collateral/case-

studies/2012-case-study-miami-dade-county- public-schools-wi-fi-

network-1-to-1-learning-initative.pdf

With Meru, districts can connect students, devices, and apps with an intelligent, agile, and open network to support interactive educational content, lively collaborative sessions, online assessments, and other essential learning tools.

GET E-RATE ANSWERS www.merunetworks.com/erate

6 January/February 2015 • www.eSchoolNews.com

Special Report

Dialing up new voice optionsVoice mail, paging services, and

directory assistance no longer qualifyfor E-rate discounts beginning with the2015 funding year. And if the FCC hasits way, the E-rate will phase out all

support for voice-related services with-in the next five years, including plainold telephone service, toll-free service,and even voice over IP (VoIP).

This change could have a dramaticeffect on school district budgets—and itlikely will force school business and ITleaders to reexamine their options forvoice-related services.

With the E-rate historically supply-ing more than $800 million in discountson voice-related services each year,schools stand to lose a significantamount of funding for these services.

This phase-out will happen morequickly for some schools than others.Beginning with the 2015 funding year,

schools will see their discount percentageon eligible voice services reduced by 20percentage points each year, until they nolonger receive any voice-related support.

So, if your school district qualifiesfor a 90-percent discount on telecom-munications services, in 2015 you’d geta 70-percent discount on your phonebill. In 2016, you’d get a 50-percent dis-count; in 2017, you’d get a 30-percentdiscount; in 2018, you’d get a 10-per-cent discount; and in 2019, you wouldnot receive any E-rate discounts on tele-phone service.

But if your school district only quali-fies for a 20-percent E-rate discount,you’ll get no E-rate support for yourphone bill in 2015. Even the poorestschools will only have four more years ofE-rate discounts on voice-related servic-es—and most schools will have only oneor two more years of voice support.

This rule change is controversial,

and many school leaders had urged theFCC not to adopt it.

In making this change, the agencyacknowledges that schools will have topay more for voice-related services, butthe savings they’ll realize on broadbandservices will help offset this cost, offi-cials say.

Although hosted VoIP service nolonger would be eligible for E-rate sup-port under the new rules, Harringtonbelieves the rules might strengthen thebusiness case for VoIP, because withoutE-rate support for phone service,schools will need to explore more cost-effective options for their voice servic-es—and VoIP lets them leverage theirinvestments in their broadband net-works in a very cost-effective way.

“If you can reduce your phone bill,you’ll need to now more than ever,”Harrington said. “This could help accel-erate the adoption of VoIP.”



Special Report

Cutting costs, improvingefficiency

Other changes to the E-rate programare designed to control costs andimprove efficiency. For instance:

• Starting this year, applicants will beable to see how much other schoolsare paying for similar kinds of servic-es—and this greater transparency intoE-rate contracts could lead to betterpricing. The Universal ServiceAdministrative Co., the agency thatadministers E-rate, will post informa-tion about the services bought byapplicants, as well as these line-itemcosts, on its website.

• To encourage better pricing throughmaster contracts, the FCC’s WirelineCompetition Bureau was given theauthority to designate “preferred mas-ter contracts” for Category 2 equip-ment. Applicants won’t have to file aForm 470 to request services includedin these master contracts, althoughthey will have to consider these servic-es in their evaluation of E-rate bids.

• To encourage bulk purchasing, theFCC has changed its rules on consor-tium applications. Starting in 2015,the E-rate forms will distinguishwhether the leader of a consortiumhas the authority to make final buy-ing decisions for its member dis-tricts—or whether it only has theauthority to seek competitive bids onbehalf of members. This changeopens up membership in a purchas-ing consortium to schools that don’twant to hand over full buying powerto another entity.

• To encourage more multiyear con-tracts and to expedite the review ofthese contracts, applicants will berequired to fill out a complete Form471 only once for these services, inthe first year of the contract. Afterthat, applicants will be able to submita streamlined application for eachremaining year. The maximum lengthof a multiyear contract is five years.

• Applicants no longer will have tosubmit a technology plan to receivefunding for Category 2 services. Butjust because you don’t have to file a

technology plan doesn’t mean youshouldn’t have one, the FCC said.

• Some low-cost purchases have beenexempted from the FCC’s Form 470posting and bidding requirements. Ifyou’re spending $3,600 or less perbuilding, per year, on the pre-dis-counted cost of internet access withat least 100 megabits per second ofdownstream bandwidth and 10 Mbpsof upstream bandwidth, you won’thave to file a Form 470 and compet-itively bid this service.

• The FCC has relaxed its rules aboutsigning a contract for E-rate servicesbefore filing a Form 471.Acknowledging that it can be hard toget all the required signatures beforethe filing deadline, the agency hasamended its rules to state that youneed “a signed contract or other

legally binding agreement in place”before filing a Form 471.

• Beginning in 2016, applicants will be

allowed to invoice USAC directly forreimbursements on E-rate-eligibleservices they pay for in full. Before,USAC would release funding only toservice providers, which then wouldpass on the funding to schools—butthis required a lot of coordinationbetween applicants and their serviceproviders.In exchange for these and other

changes, the FCC has added more strin-gent rules to guard against waste, fraud,and abuse. For example, applicantsmust keep all documentation for 10years instead of five, and they have tolet USAC officials inspect any installa-tions if requested.

An eSchool News editor for nearly

17 years, Dennis Pierce is now a free-

lance writer covering education and

technology. He can be reached at

[email protected].


To encourage more multiyear contracts and to expedite the review of these contracts, applicants will be required to fill out a completeForm 471 only once for these services, in thefirst year of the contract. After that, applicantswill be able to submit a streamlined applicationfor each remaining year. The maximum length of a multiyear contract is five years.

eSN

Digital learning demands fast, reliable Wi-Fi, and the expansion of the FCC E-Rate program is an opportunity to make sure your wireless LAN solution is ready for interactive content and classrooms filled with tablets and laptops.

Will Your Wi-Fi Pass the Test?

Gen Wi(Fi) won’t take slow for an answer

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Some solutions are more than just “equivalent.” A lot has changed since the last time you bought Wi-Fi for schools, so consider all bids. Don’t just settle for the lowest price. You need the lowest-priced and best solution to meet your 21st century learning needs. Contact a Meru representative today:

[email protected] 1.877.952.6725

Get e-Rate anSweRS Visit www.merunetworks.com/erate

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