Education Superhighway E-Rate Activities

JSI has begun working with Education Superhighway, a nonprofit working with schools across the nation to obtain sufficient Internet bandwidth at affordable rates, to alert the organization to the networks available in JSI client communities and ensure that those networks are utilized and not overbuilt.

Education Superhighway is engaging with state leaders in 39 states at present to increase fiber access to schools that have been identified as having either no access or insufficient access to broadband. It provides research and cost-benefit analyses to schools and leads them through the E-rate procurement process to attain affordable broadband access, defined by a goal of $3 per Mbps. As Education Superhighway works with schools, it evaluates all options for broadband service, including lit fiber, dark fiber, wireless broadband and self-provisioned networks.

In a meeting in Texas earlier this week, Education Superhighway’s representatives said they attempt to reach out to service providers in the areas where the nonprofit is focused to ensure that they can determine where fiber is already nearby and potentially easily accessible. Education Superhighway has asked JSI to provide a list of providers we work with and their service areas, as well as main contacts for each of those companies, in order to contact them about available networks and resources.

If you would like JSI to provide this information to Education Superhighway on your behalf, please contact Dee Dee Longenecker via email or at 512-338-0473 as soon as possible.

Source: JSI e-Lert