U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), and their Nebraska GOP colleagues urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help their home state take advantage of Educational Broadband Service (EBS) licenses.
The FCC, which plans to update EBS spectrum to promote more efficient use, recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revitalize EBS licenses. The lawmakers support a statewide proposal submitted jointly by the Nebraska Department of Education, the State Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), and Nebraska Educational Telecommunications to help the state use wireless frequencies to fill broadband connectivity gaps.
“In promoting new EBS licensing opportunities for educational entities, we request that the commission’s updated EBS rules permit state-level agencies, such as the Nebraska Department of Education, to acquire EBS licenses for the purpose of implementing statewide solutions that reach rural students,” wrote the lawmakers in a June 18 letter sent to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai that also was signed by U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE).
The lawmakers wrote that EBS could help Nebraska close persistent broadband gaps for students, especially in the state’s most isolated rural communities. They pointed out that approximately 64 percent of Nebraska’s 244 school districts have fewer than 500 K-12 students, with over half of them having just a single building.
“Connecting these students to broadband access they need for homework and other online learning opportunities has been a long-standing challenge,” wrote Rep. Bacon, Sen. Fischer and their colleagues. “Nearly 20 percent of Nebraska students lack wired internet access at home or are underserved, with internet connections significantly below the FCC’s 25Mbps/3Mbps benchmark.”
They said that Nebraska is well positioned to leverage EBS licenses as the OCIO and the University of Nebraska jointly manage Network Nebraska, a statewide network interconnecting schools and colleges that was created by the Nebraska Legislature in 2007.
“New EBS licenses could extend Network Nebraska’s broadband backbone to connect more students to rich learning opportunities, including helping them acquire the skills they will need after graduation,” according to their letter.