Connectivity Report for the

State of Texas
March&2016

Governor
Greg Abbott
Learning& is&no&longer&limited&by&bricks&and&mortar& it&is&expanded&
exponentially&by&bytes&and&bandwidth.&Expanding&technology&in&our&
classrooms&will&allow&the&State&of&Texas&to&meet&future&workforce&
needs,&help&teachers&build&a&pipeline&of&qualified&graduates,&and&
support&our&students&in&their&efforts&to&learn&without&limits.&
Every&single&child&deserves&access&to&quality&education,&and&with&the&
expanded&use&of&technology&in&the&classroom,&that&opportunity&will&be&
available&to&all&Texas&students.
F Governor&Greg&Abbott,&Texas
Source:(Texas(Office(of(the(Governor( October(2015
2

Texas can close the K-12 connectivity gap statewide

Most&districts&can&meet&connectivity&goals&with&their&current(broadband(infrastructure
Many&districts&need&fiber&to&meet&goals.&A&state(matching(fund(for&fiber&builds&will&get&
more&schools&on&fiber&before&the&EFrate&fiber&funding&window&closes&in&2019
ESCs&are&essential& to&closing(the(gap.&They&serve&many&rural&schools&and&those&schools&
not&on&fiber.&Their&support&will&ensure&affordable&broadband
Almost&all&districts&can&still&use&EFrate&to&upgrade(Wi6Fi.&The&state&and&ESCs&can&
support&WiFFi&procurement&to&make&upgrades&more&affordable

Texas K-12 landscape

20 Education&Service&Centers&(ESCs)&&&
1,026 school&districts
8,487 campuses
4.8(million(students
49%&of&students&are&in&ESC&regions&
4&(Houston),&10&(Richardson),&and&
11&(Ft&Worth)

Texas&school&districts& by&ESC

ESH sample: 52% of Texas K-12 school districts

Based&on&EFrate&funding&requests&for&2015F16
Does&not&include&charter,&private,&or&BIEs
Is&a&convenience&sample&of&538&ESHFverified&districts& representing&52%&of&all&TX&
districts
Includes&data&for&18&of&20&ESCs
7%
10%

8%
11%

21%

20%

Urban
Suburban
Small&Town

62%

61%

Population&
(n=1026)

ESH&Sample&
(n=538)

Rural

Districts population vs. sample comparison

All&school&districts

School&districts&in&ESH&sample

Term definitions for connectivity report

2014(Goal:(
Internet&access& 6 100&kbps&per&student
Wide&Area&Network&(WAN)&F 1&Gbps per&school
Fiber: fiber&or&scalable& infrastructure
Fixed&wireless&is&scalable& for&schools&up&to&1000&students
Cable&is&scalable& for&schools&up&to&100&students
FCC(E6rate:
Category&1&F funding&for&connectivity&to&schools&:&Internet&access& and&WAN
Category&2&F funding&for&connectivity&within&schools&:&WiFFi&and&Local&Area&
Network&(LAN)

Term definition: Direct Internet access

When&districts&purchase&Internet&directly&from&commercial&service&providers&it&is&called&
Direct&Internet&access.
The&bandwidth&
purchased& is&shared&
among&schools&and&
administrative& offices&
within&the&district

Bandwidth&from&
Internet&access&is&
shared& among&all&
buildings&via&a&Wide&
Area&Network&(WAN)

DISTRICT
OFFICE
INTERNET

SCHOOLS

CLASSROOMS

Term definition: ESC procured Internet

When&districts&get&Internet&access&through&ESCs&it&is&called&ESC&procured&Internet.

The&bandwidth& and&
services&are&shared&
among&schools&and&
administrative& offices&
within&the&ESC.

Bandwidth&from&Internet&access&is&shared& among&all&
buildings&via&transport& and&Wide&Area&Network&(WAN)

ESC

DISTRICT
OFFICE

INTERNET

SCHOOLS

CLASSROOMS

34% of districts receive Internet access services from ESCs

10%
34%

90%
66%

Districts&
(n=538)
Direct&Internet&access

10

Students&
(n=2,814,997)
ESC&procured&Internet

43% of rural districts receive Internet access from ESCs

Percentage&of&districts&using&ESCs&as&Internet&provider
by&locale
43%

28%

14%
10%

Rural&(n=142)

11

Small&Town&(n=30)

Suburban&(n=6)

Urban&(n=6)

Research questions

GOALS:((Are&districts&meeting&current&and&future&goals&to&ensure&that&all&
students&have&enough&bandwidth&for&digital&learning?
FIBER:((Are&schools&connected&on&technologies&that&will&allow&them&to&
easily&scale&to&meet&future&needs?
AFFORDABILITY: What&is&the&opportunity&to&improve&connectivity&
through&affordability?

WI6FI:((Are&districts&using&EFrate&funding&to&upgrade&WiFFi&and&LAN?

12

Texas has room to improve K-12 connectivity

GOALS:((60%(of&districts&and&46%(of&students&meet&100&kbps&per&
student&goal. 96%(of&WAN&circuits&meet&1&Gbps goal

FIBER:((84% of&schools&are&on&fiber

AFFORDABILITY: $16 per(Mbps is&the&median&cost&of&Internet&access,&

compared to&$11&per&Mbps&nationally

WI6FI:(($310M(of&Category&2&funding&is&still&available& out&of&$694M&
total

13

Research questions

GOALS:((Are&districts&meeting&current&and&future&goals&to&ensure&that&all&
students&have&enough&bandwidth&for&digital&learning?
FIBER:((Are&schools&connected&on&technologies&that&will&allow&them&to&
easily&scale&to&meet&future&needs?
AFFORDABILITY: What&is&the&opportunity&to&improve&connectivity&
through&affordability?

WI6FI:((Are&districts&using&EFrate&funding&to&upgrade&WiFFi&and&LAN?

14

Broadband goals can direct action and drive equity

FCC&goals&can&be&used&as&a&benchmark&for&Texas& districts
The&2014&goal&represents&a&minimum(threshold(for&every&school
! Once&minimum&thresholds&are&met,&we&suggest&either&monitoring&utilization& or&
pursuing&2018&goals&to&stay&ahead&of&demand

Purpose

15

2014

2018

Internet&access

100&kbps&per&
student/staff

1 Mbps&per&
student/staff

District transport
(WAN)

*1&Gbps&per&
school

Scalable to&10&
Gbps per&school

More(information:(https://www.fcc.gov/page/summaryCeCrateCmodernizationCorder(
*2014(WAN(targets(were(recommended(by(SETDA,(but(the(FCC(did(not(adopt(any(short(term(WAN(goals

Goals

Are school districts meeting FCC connectivity goals?

Goals

60%

of(school(districts( meet(
100(kbps(per(student(goal.(
Most(districts( not meeting(goals(are(already(on(fiber.

INTERNET(ACCESS

Goal:&100&kbps&per&student

DISTRICT
OFFICE
INTERNET
WIDE(AREA(NETWORK
Goal:&1&Gbps per&school

Source:(2015(FCC(Form(471(ECrate(applications,(data(clarification(calls(to(various(districts
16

SCHOOLS

CLASSROOMS

Districts not meeting goal are spread across the state

Goals

60% of&
districts
46% of&
students
District&goal&status
Meets&100&kbps&per&student
Does&not&meet&100&kbps&per&student

17

meet&the&minimum&
100(kbps(per(student(
goal&for&bandwidth

90% of districts not meeting goal have the infrastructure

they need already
Goals

Percent&of&districts&not&meeting&100&kbps&per&student&goal&
by&connection&type
Fiber&and&fixed&
wireless&allow&
districts& to&increase&
bandwidth& with&
existing&
infrastructure

75.1%

17.8%
2.4%
Other/
Uncategorized
(n=5)

0.5%

0.5%

3.8%

Cable
(n=1)

DSL
(n=1)

T1/T3
(n=8)

NonFscalable

18

Scalable

Fixed&Wireless
(n=38)

Fiber
(n=160)

Most Texas WAN circuits are fast enough for digital learning

Percent&of&WAN&Connections& at&1&Gbps or&higher

96%

60%

TX

19

National

Goals

Recommendation: Upgrade all districts to 100 kbps per student

Goals

Districts&not&meeting&100&kbps&per&student&goal&fall& in&two&categories,&with&
and&without&fiber&Internet&access:
1. Districts(with fiber(infrastructure:(Determine&why&districts&are&not&using&
more&bandwidth&and&create&plan&to&increase&their&bandwidth
2. Districts(without(fiber(infrastructure:(Upgrade&these&districts&to&fiber

20

Research questions

GOALS:((Are&districts&meeting&current&and&future&goals&to&ensure&that&all&
students&have&enough&bandwidth&for&digital&learning?
FIBER:((Are&schools&connected&on&technologies&that&will&allow&them&to&
easily&scale&to&meet&future&needs?
AFFORDABILITY: What&is&the&opportunity&to&improve&connectivity&
through&affordability?

WI6FI:((Are&districts&using&EFrate&funding&to&upgrade&WiFFi&and&LAN?

21

Are campuses connected to fiber?

Fiber

84%

of(campuses(are(on(fiber.
The(16%(not(on(fiber can(get(support(from(the(state(to(upgrade(infrastructure.

DISTRICT
OFFICE
INTERNET

SCHOOLS

Source:(EducationSuperHighway(research(via(ECrate(and(COSN(Survey
22

CLASSROOMS

Many campuses lacking fiber have it in their districts

already
Fiber

Some&campuses& in&district&
have&fiber
No&campuses& in&district&
have&fiber&

23

The fiber need is greater for those served by ESCs

Fiber

Percentage&of&campuses&not&on&fiber

29%

14%

Direct&Internet&Access&(n=4277)

24

ESC&as&Service&Provider&(n=577)

Fiber matching fund can connect 61% of campuses

(68% of districts) at no cost
Fiber

A&10%&state&match&will&
bring&fiber&to&these&
campuses& at&no&cost
43%

15%
10%

18%
12%

2%
40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Distribution& of&campuses&by&EFrate&discount&rate

25

90%

Federal E-rate funding for fiber builds will close by 2019

Fiber

Fiber&construction&cap&has&been&suspended&on&fiber&construction&costs
Additional&10%&EFrate&discount&if&state&has&a&matching&fund
EFrate&has&created&a&limited&time&window&to&upgrade&schools
More&flexibility&to&pay&nonFdiscounted&portion&of&fiber&construction&costs
Texas(should(support(districts( in(funding(fiber(construction(costs

Source:(www.fcc.gov/general/summaryCsecondCeCrateCmodernizationCorder,
26

States can leverage E-rate to make fiber a reality

Fiber

New&Mexico&estimates&it&can&help&~40&campuses&access& fiber&for&less&than&$1M
# of
Campuses

Special
construction

E-rate %

State match

District match

$2,500,000

90%

$125,000

$0

11

$3,100,000

90%

$155,000

$0

Cobre&Consolidated&Schools

$675,000

90%

$33,750

$0

Deming&Public&Schools&

$1,325,000

90%

$66,250

$0

Farmington&Municipal& Schools

$700,000

80%

$70,000

$0

Gadsden&Independent&Schools

$450,000

90%

$22,500

$0

GallupFMcKinley&County&Schools

$5,975,000

90%

$298,750

$0

Hondo&Valley&Public&Schools&

$115,350

90%

$5,768

$0

37

$14,840,350

$777,018

$0

District

Bernalillo&Public&Schools&
Central&Consolidated&Schools&

TOTAL

27

Recommendation: Launch statewide fiber program

Fiber

Schools&not&on&fiber&should&be&on&a&plan&to&upgrade&their&connectivity.&
The&state&can&help&accelerate& their&upgrade&efforts:
1. Work&with&service( providers to&get&schools&on&fiber
2. Create&state&fiber(matching(fund(to&accelerate& infrastructure&upgrades&

28

Research questions

GOALS:((Are&districts&meeting&current&and&future&goals&to&ensure&that&all&
students&have&enough&bandwidth&for&digital&learning?
FIBER:((Are&schools&connected&on&technologies&that&will&allow&them&to&
easily&scale&to&meet&future&needs?
AFFORDABILITY: What&is&the&opportunity&to&improve&connectivity&
through&affordability?

WI6FI:((Are&districts&using&EFrate&funding&to&upgrade&WiFFi&and&LAN?

29

Is K-12 broadband affordable for all districts?

Affordability

Internet(access( costs(vary
among(districts(and(ESCs.

Districts( need(more(bandwidth for(their(budget.

DISTRICT
OFFICE
INTERNET

SCHOOLS

30

CLASSROOMS

Internet costs in Texas are more expensive at low bandwidths

Affordability

Median&cost&per&Mbps&of&fiber&IA&(Texas&Overall&vs.&National)
$49.87

$46.76

$50.00

$23.84

$25.00
$16.00
$7.93 $7.00&

20&(n=23,&204)

50&(n=39,&751)

100&(n=87,&1588)

Texas&Overall&Median

31

500&(n=39,&488)

National&Median&Cost/Mbps

$4.19 $4.08&

1000&(n=85,&1020)

Affordable Internet access will help ESC districts the most

Percent&of&districts&that&would&meet&2014&IA&goal&at&various&pricing&
levels&(holding&budget&constant)

87%

87%

93%

99%

Affordability

100%

75%
61%

60%

Meeting&Goals&at&Current&
Pricing

Meeting&Goals&at&Median&
Pricing

Direct&Internet&Access&(n=354)

32

Meeting&Goals&at&25th&
Percentile&Pricing

Meeting&Goals&at&$3/Mbps&
Target&Pricing

ESC&as&Service&Provider&(n=184)

Texas is ahead of the nation in WAN affordability

Affordability

Cost&per&WAN&fiber&circuits
by&bandwidth
$1,045
$881.26
$744.50

Target:($750
National(
Median:(
$1166

100&Mbps&(n=6)

33

1&Gbps&(n=123)

10&Gbps&(n=34)

Recommendation: Get districts more affordable broadband

Affordability

Broadband&costs&might&become&more&affordable&with&open&data.&The&state&
should&look&at&affordability&as&a&shortF and&longFterm&strategy:
1. Use&Compare(&(Connect(K612(to&highlight&opportunities&to&improve&
affordability&within&district&structure
2. Work&with&service&providers&to&get&districts&more(bandwidth(for(their(
budgets

34

Research questions

GOALS:((Are&districts&meeting&current&and&future&goals&to&ensure&that&all&
students&have&enough&bandwidth&for&digital&learning?
FIBER:((Are&schools&connected&on&technologies&that&will&allow&them&to&
easily&scale&to&meet&future&needs?
AFFORDABILITY: What&is&the&opportunity&to&improve&connectivity&
through&affordability?

WI6FI:((Are&districts&using&EFrate&funding&to&upgrade&WiFFi&and&LAN?

35

Are districts using E-rate funding to upgrade Wi-Fi and LAN?

Wi6Fi

58%

of(school(districts
applied(for(E6rate(Category(2(in(2015616.

DISTRICT
OFFICE
INTERNET

SCHOOLS

Source:(EducationSuperHighway(research(via(ECrate(and(COSN(Survey
36

CLASSROOMS

Over $300 million in Category 2 funding is available

Applicants&should&use&EFrate&Category&2&to&upgrade&WiFFi&every&5&years

$310(million

of&the&states&five&year&
EFrate&budget&internal&
networking&is&still&
available&
($694&million&total)

89%

of&districts&still&have&not&
used&their&full&5Fyear&
$150/student&budget

Wi6Fi

58%

of&districts&have&
requested&some&
Category&2&funding

CATEGORY(2

INTERNET

DISTRICT
OFFICE

SCHOOLS

CLASSROOMS

CATEGORY(2

Source:(2015(FCC(Form(471(ECrate(applications
37

Recommendation: Support Wi-Fi upgrades statewide

Wi6Fi

The&state&can&support&districts&in&evaluating&and&upgrading&their&WiFFi&
connectivity&through&a&few&methods:
1. Develop&E6rate(support(strategy(to&increase&Category&2&utilization
2. Explore&options&and&develop&recommendations&for&statewide(or(ESC((((((((((((((((((
Wi6Fi(procurement

38

Texas can close the connectivity gap with these next steps

GOALS:((Increase&bandwidth&for&campuses&on&fiber&that&do&not&meet&
goals
FIBER:((Meet&with&providers&to&discuss&upgrade&opportunities.&Create&
fiber&matching fund&to&accelerate&upgrades
AFFORDABILITY: Use&Compare &&Connect&KF12 for&short&term&
broadband&affordability. Work&with&service&providers&to&get&more&
affordable&bandwidth
WI6FI:((Develop&EFrate&support&strategy&to&increase&Category&2&
utilization. Explore&statewide&WiFFi&procurement

39