In fact, 50% of students in America would have only the equivalent of dial-up speeds (up to 56 kbps per student) if their classrooms were to transition to a 1:1 digital learning environment.

5. Chart 1: SchoolSpeedTest results show that 63% of U.S. schools are not meeting
the Current Goals
Not Meeting Current Goals
PercentofSchools
Not Meeting Five Year Goals
0%
50%
100%
63%
99%
“
”

6. Chart 2: At the current rate of upgrades, it would take until 2021 for all schools
to meet Current Goals
2012-
2013
PercentofSchools
MeetingCurrentGoals
0%
50%
100%
28%
2013-
2014
37%
2014-
2015
46%
2015-
2016
55%
2016-
2017
School Year
64%
2017-
2018
73%
2018-
2019
82%
2019-
2020
91%
2020-
2021
100%Actual SchoolSpeedTest Data
Projected

7. Appendix A: Data Collection and Sampling

10. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Chart 6: Approximately half of E-rate mobile spending goes toward data services for mobile
devices (including tablets), wireless cards, and Wi-Fi hot spots
$20
$40
$60
$80
$100
$120
$140
Voice & Data
AnnualE-rateSpending($M)
$0
$121
Data
$80
Voice
$77
Unknown
$13
Mixed/Other
$3
Chart 7: Approximately $124M of annual E-rate spending is on web hosting and email
$20
$40
$60
$80
$100
$120
Web Hosting
AnnualE-rateSpending($M)
$0
$100
Email Services
$23
Other
$7
Unknown
$0.4

11. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Chart 8: Significantly higher speeds are available over fiber connections compared to other
service types
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
T1/DSL
CommonCommercially
AvailableMaximumSpeed(Mbps)
$0
1.5
T3/D53
45
DSL
50
Cable
100
Fixed Wireless
1,000
Fiber
10,000
“
”
“
”

12. Chart 9: Fiber is more cost-effective than most service types and more scalable than cable
$100
$200
$300
$400
Cable
(n=187)
MonthlyCostPerMbps
$0
$7
Lit Fiber
(n=470)
$9
DSL
(n=77)
$18
Fixed Wireless
(n=20)
$73
T3/D53
(n=14)
$88
T1/DSL
(n=67)
$324

13. No Fiber Fiber
AverageMbps
0
200
400
600
800
1000
37
90
344
787
No Fiber
AverageMbps
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$41
Fiber
$11
Chart 10a: Fiber connections result in bandwidth
that is on average 9 times higher than
other service types
Chart 10b: Cost of connectivity using fiber is
approximately 75% lower than other
service types
WAN
Internet Access

14. Not Meeting
Goals
%ofSchoolswithFiber
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
83%
Meeting
Current Goals
kbps Per Student Gbps Per Circuit
17%
Meeting Five
Year Goals
1%
Not Meeting
Goals
%ofSchoolswithFiber
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
61%
Meeting Current/
Five Year Goals
39%
Chart 11a: 83% of schools with Internet access
over fiber still are not meeting
Current Goals
Chart 11b: 61% of schools with fiber WAN
connections are not meeting
Current Goals
Chart 12: Districts not meeting Current Goals face a price for connectivity that is too high
to buy sufficient bandwidth
Meeting Current Goals
MonthlyCost
perMbps
Not Meeting Current Goals
$0
$10
$20
$5.72
$17.44
WAN
Internet Access
affordability
!
“
”

15. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Chart 13: Districts that are meeting the Current Goals pay approximately 4.5 times more
from their budgets for Internet access
$2
$4
$6
$8
Meeting Current Goals
AnnualNon-Discounted
ExpensePerStudent
Not Meeting Current Goals
$0
$7.16
$1.59
Chart 14: Wealthier schools are more likely to be meeting the Current Goals than poorer schools
10%
20%
30%
50%
40%
Affluent (<1%)
Percentofschools
meetingCurrentGoals
0%
39%
Moderate (1-74%)
Percent of Free and Reduced Lunch Students Per District
20%
Low-income (75-100%)
14%
!
“
”

16. Chart 15: Internet access costs decrease significantly as more bandwidth is purchased
$50
$100
$150
10
Mbps
MonthlyCostperMbps
$0
$114
20
Mbps
$74
50
Mbps
$36
100
Mbps
$27
200
Mbps
$22
500
Mbps
$15
1
Gbps
$7
10
Gbps
$2

17. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Chart 16: District WAN capacity can be significantly increased with moderate increases in cost
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,500
$2,000
10 Mbps
MonthlyCostPer
Connection(LitFiber)
$0
$775
100 Mbps
$899
1 Gbps
$1,242
10 Gbps
$2,173

18. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Chart 17: District WAN cost per connection decreases with a higher number of
connections purchased
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
<20 (n=155)
MonthlyCostper
Connection
(1Gbpslitfiber)
0%
$1,665
20 - 99 (n=23)
$1,280
100+ (n=2)
$445
Chart 18: District WAN economies of scale can be achieved in all types of locales
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
Metropolitan
MonthlyCostper
Connection
(1Gbpslitfiber)
0%
$1,221
Suburban Core
$923
Suburban Fringe
$1,538
Remote Area
$1,412
!
!
“
”

19. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Before After
Total Monthly Cost
Stayed Roughly the Same
Monthly Cost Per Mbps
Decreased Significantly
Bandwidth Increased Fivefold
$0
$20,000
$40,000
$20
$30,100 $31,000
$2
Before After
0
2,000
4,000
Before After
$0
$10.00
$20.00
$30.00
Figure 2: Indian Prairie School District dramatically increased bandwidth without increasing costs
District WAN
Internet Access

20. Chart 19: The quartile of districts with the lowest per-Mbps rates pay 1/6th the
median cost
$20
$40
$60
$80
$100
$120
$140
1st Quartile
MonthlyCostperMbps
$0
$4
WAN
Internet Access
2nd Quartile
$17
Median
$25
3rd Quartile
$38
4th Quartile
$134
1st
Quartile
2nd
Quartile
Median
100 Mbps, Internet Access
3rd
Quartile
4th
Quartile
MonthlyCostperMbps
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
$30
$35
$40
$12
$20 $21
$26
$34
1st
Quartile
2nd
Quartile
Median
1 Gbps, District WAN
3rd
Quartile
4th
Quartile
MonthlyCostperMbps
$0
$.5
$1.0
$1.5
$2.0
$2.5
$0.58
$0.98
$1.28
$1.54
$2.15
Chart 20a and 20b: Wide cost variations for Internet access and district WAN exist even within
metropolitan areas

21. Chart 21: District contributions to WAN costs are roughly equal regardless of
whether districts are meeting Current Goals
$2,000
$4,000
Meeting Current Goals
MonthlyCost
perMbps
Not Meeting Current Goals
$0
$3,477 $3,535

23. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Chart 22a: Districts using cable and meeting
Current Goals have a median
three schools
6
Meeting Current
Goals
Number
ofSchools
Not Meeting
Current Goals
0
2
4 3
5
Chart 22b: Districts using cable and meeting
Current Goals have approximately
500 students
Meeting Current
Goals
Numberof
Students
Not Meeting
Current Goals
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
523
1,969

24. Figure 1
Chart 23a: Fixed wireless Internet access is over two
times more expensive than lit fiber
Lit Fiber
MonthlyCost
perMbps
(10-200Mbps)
Fixed Wireless
$0
$50
$100
$29
$73
Chart 23b: Fixed wireless WAN connections are over
two times more expensive than lit fiber
Lit Fiber
MonthlyCost
perciruit
(5-1000Mbps)
Fixed Wireless
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$1,099
$2,283

25. Chart 24a: It would cost E-rate $16B per
year to support all students on
mobile LTE
Current E-rate
Program Cap
AnnualcosttoE-rate
($B)
Cost to Serve all
Students on LTE
$0
$10
$5
$16
$20
$2.38
$16B
Chart 24b: At the current cap, E-rate could
support only 7 million students
on mobile LTE
Served by LTE at
Current E-rate
Program Cap
NumberofStudents
Students Currently
Served by E-rate
0
20
10
30
40
50
60
7
48

26. Chart 25: Schools receive an average of $11,000 per year for non-broadband services
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
$6,000
$7,000
Telephony Mobile Email ServicesWeb Hosting Other
AverageAnnualE-rateFunding
$0 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
$6,485
$3,719
$1,850
$1,213
$838
96%
78%
53%
19%
8%
Percent of Schools Receiving Funding
Annual E-Rate Funding Per School
Chart 26: Transitioning $1.1B of E-rate funding to broadband services significantly advances Current
Goals but leaves a large gap against Five Year Goals
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Current Goals
PercentofSchools
Five Year Goals
0%
76%
4%
20%
11%
9%
80%
Upgraded with Transition of $1.1 B
Ready Today
Insufficient Funds to Upgrade

27. Purchasing at scale
Increasing price transparency
Increasing competition
Chart 27: It would cost E-rate $11B per year to meet the Five Year Goals, assuming
status quo pricing
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
Current Cost
AnnualCosttoE-rate
($M)
$0
$1,285
Meet Current Goals at
Status Quo Pricing
$2,393
Meet Five Year Goals at
Status Quo Pricing
$11,057
Internet Access
District WAN

28. Chart 28: Leveraging economies of scale in purchasing could save up to 79% over the status quo
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$500
$1,500
$2,500
AnnualCosttoE-rate
($M)
$0
Current Cost
$1,285
Meet Current Goals at
Status Quo Pricing
$2,393
Meet Current Goals
with Economies
of Scale
$1,562
Meet Five Year Goals
with Economies
of Scale
$2,376Internet Access
WAN
Internet access and WAN only. Does not include LAN / Wi-Fi costs to meet ConnectED Goals

29. Chart 29: More efficient procurement can increase the impact of economies of scale
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$500
$1,500
$2,500
AnnualCosttoE-rate
($M)
$0
Current Cost
$1,285
Meet Current Goals at
Status Quo Pricing
$2,393
Meet Current Goals
at Top 50% Pricing
$747
Meet Five Year Goals
at Top 50% Pricing
$1,799
Internet Access
District WAN
Internet access and WAN only. Does not include LAN / Wi-Fi costs to meet ConnectED Goals

30. Chart 30: Market competition results in significant cost reductions for district WAN
1 Gbps Lit Fiber
MonthlyCostPerCircuit
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
$1,566
$822
10 Gbps Lit Fiber
$4,485
$1,474
Other Providers
Incumbent Providers

31. Chart 31: Dark fiber WANs offer significant cost advantages over lit fiber
100 Mbps Connection
(n=94, 31)
MonthlyCostPerCircuit
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$899
$1,242
$2,173
$522
$187
$522
$187
$522
$187
10 Gbps Connection
(n=22, 31)
1 Gbps Connection
(n=144, 31)
Leased Dark Fiber
Self-provisioned Fiber
Lit Fiber

32. Chart 32: Widespread deployment of dark fiber would save E-rate 70 - 90% annually
for district WAN
$500
$1,000
$1,500
Status Quo Pricing
AnnualCosttoE-rate
($M)
$0
$1,218
Leased Dark Fiber
$376
Self-provisioned Fiber
$135
Does not include LAN / Wi-Fi costs to meet ConnectED Goals
Chart 33: While effective for district WAN, market competition is not a reliable way to reduce
costs for Internet access
100 Mbps Connection
MonthlyCostPerMbps
(InternetAccessOverFiber)
$0
$40
$30
$20
$10
$18
$30
1 Gbps Connection
$9 $7
Other Providers
Incumbent Providers

33. Chart 34: Investing in transport to state R&E networks for Internet access allows E-rate to meet
Five Year Goals at an annual cost of $1.2B
$4,000
$8,000
$12,000
$2,000
$6,000
$10,000
AnnualCosttoE-rate
($M)
$0
Meet Current Goals at
Status Quo Pricing
$1,175
Meet Five Year Goals
at Status Quo Pricing
$10,076
Meet Current Goals
Leveraging R&E
Networks
$569
Meet Five Year Goals
Leveraging R&E
Networks
$1,247
Does not include LAN / Wi-Fi costs to meet ConnectED Goals

34. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Chart 35: Doubling the E-rate funding cap addresses Current Goals but leaves a large gap against
Five Year Goals
50%
100%
Current Goals
PercentofSchools
Five Year Goals
0%
80%
20%
26%
9%
65%
Upgraded with Funding
Ready Today
Insufficient Funds to Upgrade

35. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Data Network:
Telephony:

36. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Mobile:
Other Services:
ISP (Internet Service Provider) Only:
Upstream:
Upstream & ISP:
District WAN (Wide Area Network):
Upstream & WAN:
Upstream, ISP & WAN:
Voice:
Data:
Voice and Data:
Web Hosting:
Email Services:
Mixed:

37. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Size of Applicant
Location Type
Metropolitan
Suburban Core
Suburban Fringe
Remote

38. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
Size of Applicant
Location Type
Metropolitan
Suburban Core
Suburban Fringe
Remote
Size of Applicant
Location Type
Metropolitan
Suburban Core
Suburban Fringe
Remote
Unidentified
Size of Applicant
Location Type
Metropolitan
Suburban Core
Suburban Fringe
Remote

39. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report

40. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report

41. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report

42. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
!
!
!
!

43. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report

44. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
1 Gbps Lit Fiber

45. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
District Locale
Metropolitan
and Suburban Core
Suburban Fringe
and Remote
20 Mbps
50 Mbps
100 Mbps
500 Mbps
1,000 Mbps
10,000 Mbps
1 Gbps
Metropolitan
Suburban Core
Suburban Fringe
Remote Area

46. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report
District Locale
Metropolitan
and Suburban Core
Suburban Fringe
and Remote
20 Mbps
50 Mbps
100 Mbps
500 Mbps
1,000 Mbps
10,000 Mbps

47. 1 Gbps
Metropolitan
Suburban Core
Suburban Fringe
Remote Area
59

48. EducationSuperHighway
National K-12 E-rate Spending Report

49. EducationSuperHighway
101 California Street, #4100
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 967-7430
info@educationsuperhighway.org
About Education SuperHighway
EducationSuperHighway is the leading non-profit focused on upgrading
the Internet infrastructure in America’s K-12 public schools. We believe
that digital learning represents an unprecedented opportunity to
provide every student with equal access to educational opportunity
and that every school requires high-speed broadband to make that
opportunity a reality.
EducationSuperHighway’s data-driven programs help accelerate
upgrades in America’s schools. We work to raise awareness of the
school connectivity gap, provide technical and procurement expertise
to states and districts, and advocate on behalf of students to influence
policy decisions. Our work has helped shape President Obama’s
ConnectED initiative and served as a catalyst for modernization of the
Federal Communications Commission’s E-rate program.