Presentation to
KINBER Annual Conference
Broadband Public Policy Update
April 23, 2014
John Windhausen
Executive Director, SHLB Coalition
jwindhausen@shlb.org (202) 256-9616
Mission
Advocate for programs and policies that
enable anchor institutions
to obtain
open, affordable, high-speed
broadband connections to the Internet.
SHLB Membership
K-12 Schools (CoSN, SECA)
 Community Colleges (AACC, ITC)
 Libraries (ALA, COSLA, ULC, Alaska State Library, Alaska

Library Association, N.J. State Library, ARSL)
Public Media: Access Humboldt
 Higher Education (EDUCAUSE, U. of Alaska, Center for

Digital Inclusion)
Foundations (Gates, Benton, New America)
 State Mapping Agencies (Partnership for Connected

Illinois, New Mexico Broadband Authority)
SHLB Membership (Cont’d)

National R&E Networks: (Internet2/USUCAN)

State R&E Networks: The Quilt, Merit,
NYSERNET, MCNC, OARNet, I-Light, OSHEAN, UEN

Broadband Companies: Google, ENA
Broadband Consulting Firms: ICF, ZeroDivide
 Municipal: NATOA, ILSR
 Wireless: Mobile Beacon

SHLB Advocacy Issues: 2009-2013
•
•
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•
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BTOP and BIP Programs
National Broadband Plan
FCC’s 2010 E-rate Reform
FCC’s 2011 Connect America Fund
FCC’s 2012 Rural Healthcare Connect
Fund
• U.S. Ignite
• Digital Literacy
SHLB Advocacy Issues: 2014
•
•
•
•
E-rate Reform
Connect America Fund
Healthcare Connect Fund
Unlicensed Wireless
ConnectED
• “99-in-5”
– 99% of school children should be
connected to high-speed broadband in 5
years
• Private Sector Commitments
– Sprint, AT&T, Microsoft, Verizon, Apple,
O’Reilly Media, AutoDesk
E-rate Reform
• Comprehensive: What if the FCC
started from scratch?
• Funding: What is the size of the
problem? How much money do we
need?
• Streamlining: How can we improve the
efficiency of the program?
Comprehensive
• Refocus on broadband
• Diminish support for voice, web hosting,
pagers
• P1/P2 distinction will disappear
P1: External connections
P2: Internal connections
Funding
• Cap of $2.25 B was set in 1997
– Indexed annually for inflation in 2010
– Now $2.4 B
• Demand at $5 Billion
– Actual demand is higher
– No money available for P2 (internal
connections)
Efficiencies
• Streamline application and approval
process
– Eliminate carriers as the middleman
– Eliminate technology plans for P2
– Allow evergreen approval of long-term
contracts.
Controversial Issues
• $2 Billion available in next 2 years –
how should this be spent?
• Should the E-rate cap be raised
permanently?
• Should E-rate support a short-term
surge in funding for capex?
• Should dark fiber or self-provisioning be
allowed?
Camps
• Traditional schools: no changes, just
more money, especially P2
• SHLB/Education Superhighway:
surge in funding for capex;
• Pai/Funds for Learning: Simplify the
program by awarding funding to schools
and libraries based on students/patrons
Connect America Fund
• Former High-Cost Fund, subsidizes
telcos in rural areas (not rural
telcos)
– FCC 2011 order shifted money to
AT&T/Verizon
– About ½ of short-term funding
rejected by industry
Connect America Fund
• FCC about to open process to nontraditional providers (including R&E
networks)
– FCC invited “expressions of interest”
– Almost 100 filed
– FCC Adopting Order and Further Notice
TODAY to open the CAF funding to nontelcos
Healthcare Connect Fund
• FCC made $400 M available to fund
broadband networks to connecting rural
and urban
• Match of 35% is required – difficult
• Consortia applications are encouraged,
but local organization is challenging.
Unlicensed Wireless
Spectrum
• FCC decision in May
• Unlicensed (white spaces) spectrum
can be used to extend Wi-Fi for 3-5
miles
SHLB Coalition’s Annual Conference
May 7-9, 2014
Marriott Marquis Hotel
Washington DC
www.shlb.org/events