U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Montana Governor Steve Bullock are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to update a program aimed at bringing broadband to rural schools.
The FCC’s E-Rate Program, which provides discounts on telecommunications services to schools and libraries, is mired in long delays and denials, the Montana lawmakers said. Tester and Bullock are asking FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to reform the program to give more students access to high-speed internet.
“To ensure our children are prepared for a globally connected economy and 21st-century jobs, it is vital that all classrooms are equipped with high-speed internet,” Tester and Bullock wrote in a letter to Pai. “A quality public education is the foundation of our democracy and our future workforce.”
Tester and Bullock cited a school in Montana that is stuck waiting for broadband access. While they wait, the school has had to bus students to other schools for testing and rely on teachers and students to use the internet at their homes for assignments.
“You must not let burdensome paperwork stand between Montana students and their access to critical educational material,” Tester and Bullock continued. “We stand ready to work with the FCC to reduce bureaucratic barriers and enhance opportunities for high-speed internet deployment.”
Tester recently secured a major investment to expand wireless 4G LTE for up to 50,000 square miles in Montana. About 90 percent of school districts in Montana are meeting minimum connectivity goals.