FCC plans to provide rural schools with more Internet options

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to overhaul the E-Rate program, mainly a boon to rural areas, to give schools more options for Internet service. "The proposed E-Rate order would allow schools and libraries to use federal funds to lease unused local communication lines, known as dark fiber, to connect to the Internet, a potentially faster and lower-cost connection than currently offered through many local telecommunications companies," Edward Wyatt of The New York Times reports. The $2.25 billion program subsidizes Internet service for schools and public libraries, mostly in poor and rural areas.

"At its monthly meeting on Thursday, the FCC also will consider allowing schools to open the use of Internet resources paid for with E-Rate funds to the local community after school hours and when school is not in session, which is currently not allowed under E-Rate regulations," Wyatt writes. The E-Rate program is funded through a fee collected from all telephone users. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told Wyatt, "For the good of our economy, we need all of our kids to be digitally literate." (Read more)