As more and more schools request funds for a faster internet speed, the connectivity concerns will begin to shift.
In just one year, schools’ requests for high-speed internet of one gigabit per second or faster have nearly doubled. An incredible 90 percent of applicants expect their bandwidth needs will only continue to increase as time and technology and devices move forward.
The findings come from 2016 E-Rate Trends Report by the consulting group called Funds for Learning. The report analyzed and surveyed the internet requests and opinions of the applicants.
The demand for a better internet speed does not come as a shock. Many experts believe in the importance of establishing a strong backbone infrastructure of wireless access to introduce big-tech learning programs and offer students a future-ready education.
Funds for Learning, the research company, found that 72 percent of all schools say that Wi-Fi is critical in fulfilling their directive and about 43 percent of districts only have an internet connection that ranges anywhere from one to three years old.
E-Rate funding is particularly helpful because it is not a part of the federal budget and does not depend on the ups and down of Congress–and with this current administration, public schools need all the help they can get!
However, the issue will not be about what students can get at school. This is because as technology progresses forward, demands for a broader internet connection will only increase and never truly die. The barrier does not lie in school, but at home. Will students–particularly low-income students–have access to the internet speed required to connect to assignments and other schoolwork?
Mobile hotspots may be able to solve this dilemma by giving students access to the required internet using a school’s device. This gives them the option to do their homework at home or on the bus (if they forgot to do an assignment the previous night–it happens to the best of us!).