The Commission recently released its first update to the E-Rate Map of Fiber Connectivity which shows fiber deployment to America’s public schools and libraries. The update comes just one week after the FCC issued a Public Notice encouraging E-rate stakeholders including states, districts, schools and libraries to submit connectivity data to the Commission. Parties wishing to submit additional information can file comments to the E-Rate Modernization Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proceeding or can email the Commission directly at schoolfibermap@fcc.gov or libraryfibermap@fcc.gov.

The E-rate Map of Fiber Connectivity is broken down into two sections, “School Districts” and “Libraries.” The “School District” map allows users to mouse-over a geographic area and see the total number of students in a particular school district as well as the percentage of schools with or without fiber access. The “Libraries” map allows users to mouse-over a geographic area and see the total number of annual visits to a particular library system.

We encourage service providers to take a look at the available data and to review the FCC’s recently released Staff Report which was jointly authored by the Wireline Competition Bureau and the Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis. For additional information about the E-rate Modernization Order, please visit our previous blog post.

FCC Releases E-Rate Connectivity Map