FCC spends $42 million to expand internet connectivity at schools

The Federal Communications Commission will spend another $42 million to ensure schools and libraries have internet access. So far, the commission has earmarked more than $5.7 billion for its Emergency Connectivity Program, which began last year.

The latest round of funding will benefit 100,000 students in Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

“This is the time of year when families stock up on school supplies, and internet access should be on that list.  Yet we still have too many students who lack the ability to connect with school after hours,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “This latest round of funding will help more students get the online access they need for a successful education, and bring us closer to closing the homework gap.”

So far, the program has offered internet connectivity to more than 10,000 schools, 900 libraries and provided nearly 12 million connected devices and over 7 million broadband connections.