According to NBC News, The Dallas Independent School District (TX) is building its own network of towers, including 90-foot structures at several schools. It’s been renting mobile hotspots for upwards of 40,000 students during the pandemic, with each one costing the district $25 per month. Now, it’s banking on a long-term solution.
Jack Kelanic, chief technology officer for the district, said, “It’s kind of like renting versus owning.” The district’s solution is to take its wholesale internet service, a decade-old fiber-optic network, and provide free service for neighborhoods most in need to make remote learning available.
The school district is starting with five towers, each with a price tag of $500,000, reported NBC News. According to Kelanic, each tower should eventually expand coverage to a radius of over one mile to reach a few thousand students. The district will provide a receiver, free of charge, to households that need WiFi.
The district-provided device includes filtering software to restrict access, and some service only connects to school-issued laptops, banning streaming services and social media. “It’s the same service they would get on campus. They’re just getting it at home,” Kelanic said.
The Castleberry Independent School, also in Texas, built three 150-foot towers to provide free internet to students. “Many of our students, the only internet they might have is if their parents had it on a cell phone,” said Renee Smith-Faulkner, associate superintendent of the school.
Another solution schools in Texas and Utah are trying for uses the Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum. NBC News reported that federal regulators began opening the 3.5 GHz band to shared use in 2019. “We need to give schools the tools they need to help solve the Homework Gap,” said acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Thanks to the FCC’s efforts, the 3.5 GHz band is a powerful slice of wireless spectrum that can do just that.”
NBC News reported the telecommunications industry has lobbied against government-provided internet services, according to BroadbandNow. However, schools are moving forward with expanding home internet services to connect students, and many providers have given discounts during the pandemic.
According to Jacob Bowser, Castleberry’s director of technology operations, telecoms are not losing money as schools step in to help those who can’t afford the internet. “It’s an entirely different market,” he said.
A district in Murray (UT) built 10 rooftop towers, each six feet tall. The district has distributed home receiver equipment to about 30 families, with plans to reach 400 total, said Jason Eyre, the technology supervisor for Murray schools. He added that the “network is designed for scale, and it’s designed for a lot of people to be pressuring it.”
How do schools afford to provide free internet services? According to NBC News, districts are using money from the CARES Act, private donors, and other sources. Currently, they can’t tap into federal E-Rate program funds, but that might change under the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.
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