News release: “The Federal Communications Commission today upgraded and modernized the E-rate program to bring fast, affordable Internet access to schools and libraries across the country. These changes will help ensure that America’s students can learn and develop the hightech skills necessary to compete in the 21st Century economy. The National Broadband Plan laid out a series of recommendations to promote broadbandenabled, cutting-edge learning inside and outside the classroom. One of the key recommendations is modernizing the FCC’s E-rate program, established by Congress to bring connectivity to all schools and libraries across America. The program has achieved remarkable success — 97 percent of American schools and nearly all public libraries now have basic Internet access. But the Plan found that basic broadband connectivity is too slow to keep up with the innovative high-tech tools that are now essential for a world-class education. According to a recent FCC survey, 78 percent of E-rate recipients say they need faster connections to meet the speed and capacity demands of their students, teachers, and library patrons. The FCC’s E-rate Order makes it easier for schools and libraries to get the highest speeds for the lowest prices by increasing their options for broadband providers and streamlining the application process. The Order is another advance in the Commission’s ongoing transformation of the Universal Service Fund, of which the E-rate program is part, to deploy broadband throughout America.”