Michael Calabrese of the New America Foundation indicated...

Michael Calabrese of the New America Foundation indicated by email the group is taking a wait-and-see approach as the FCC moves forward on E-rate reform (CD June 12 p1 or WID June 12 p5). Support for internal connections, such as Wi-Fi, shouldn’t “come at the expense of needed investment in school-owned fiber and gigabit connectivity,” said Calabrese, a New America senior researcher. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler “is correct that schools need resources for ubiquitous wireless connectivity, but schools also need resources and flexibility to make the upfront investments in gigabit capacity that makes Wi-Fi access meaningful,” he said. “Schools and libraries need to provision gigabit connectivity at least as much as they need the Wi-Fi routers to distribute it to users."