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E-Rate Back to School Blog
E-Rate Funding Makes Back-to-School Tech More Affordable for Schools & Libraries
A few years ago, the Salisbury School in northwestern Connecticut was experiencing bandwidth issues with their existing internet connectivity. With hybrid learning and Zoom meetings increasing, existing bandwidth was strained, affecting performance. Salisbury needed a solution—and fast.
Keeping technology tools up to date is beneficial for better learning, but it can be difficult to do on the tight budgets of today’s schools and libraries. The good news is that educational tech can be made more affordable thanks to the FCC’s E-Rate program.
How are schools using new technology?
So, how did Salisbury School solve its problem? Frontier had fiber connectivity available in the area and provisioned Dedicated Internet Access for the school, installing an additional 1 Gig. This increased the school’s bandwidth and added some much-needed redundancy to meet the high usage of its student body.
The improved network solution has supported Salisbury for several years without interruption.This is just one example of how educational institutions can benefit from updated technology.
And with E-Rate funding, these kinds of upgrades are within reach for so many more schools and libraries. (Want more ideas? Discover how Bethany Bible School upgraded their communications during the pandemic and how California adopted a more cost-effective, high performance network for its schools and libraries.)
What is E-Rate? How are schools using new technology? E-Rate funding helps schools and libraries receive discounts on telecom, internet connectivity, and internal connections services. According to the FCC, E-rate discounts “make telecommunications and information services more affordable for schools and libraries” and has “refocused E-Rate from legacy telecommunications services to broadband, with a goal to significantly expand Wi-Fi access.”
How can schools and libraries benefit? The FCC states:
- Eligible schools and libraries can receive discounts on telecom and internet services, managed internet services, and even basic internal connections maintenance.
- Although schools and libraries must pay for some of the cost, discounts of 20 to 90 percent are available and depend on the funding level and location.
At Frontier, we work with hundreds of schools and libraries to help them upgrade connectivity and network solutions to better support education. Many of Frontier’s services qualify for E-Rate funding including:
- Ethernet – Reliable internet connectivity
- Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) – Dedicated internet connection for 99.99% circuit availability
- Managed Wi-Fi – Wireless connectivity with 24/7 expert monitoring
- Managed DIA – Our signature DIA service plus monitoring and maintenance
- Managed Security – Advanced security offers content filtering
Take your education initiatives to the next level with E-Rate and Frontier Get started today. Identify the services you need and submit your request to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). To learn more about the process, download the free Frontier E-Rate toolkit.
Ready to contact a Frontier E-Rate expert directly? We’re ready to answer your questions. Reach out to us at [email protected] or visit enterprise.frontier.com.