A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

The Honorable Reed E. Hundt
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554

    We are writing at a critical juncture in the effort to implement the universal service provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Federal-State Joint Board that you chair will soon make its recommendations to the Commission concerning policies that will preserve and advance our nation's long-standing goal of affordable access to telecommunications service for all Americans including schools, libraries and rural health care clinics. We commend you and the other members of the Joint Board for your commitment to universal service and stand ready to provide any assistance that may help the Board successfully complete the important task at hand.

    As you know, the Clinton Administration is strongly committed to the prompt deployment of a basic package of telecommunication services to every school and library in America--urban, suburban, and rural--to ensure that our nation's learners--both children and adults--have universal access to the Information Age. On behalf of the Administration, NTIA at the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education, and the Department of Agriculture are today filing a plan to implement the E-rate, a free "education rate," that will guarantee that we reach the goal of universal connectivity by the year 2000.

    Technological literacy is a critical skill for America's students to succeed in the 21st century. Simply put, today's work force rewards those workers who possess computer literacy skills, and tomorrow's work force will demand computer literacy skills. In order to prepare our children to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, universal access to the Information Superhighway will be critical. The Internet, in many ways, is the blackboard of the future. It is our strong belief that by advancing free basic access, we will increase the pace of classroom learning and continuing efforts to improve education.

    Unfortunately, the cost of access to telecommunication services continues to be a barrier for too many schools and libraries. These costs prevent many of our teachers and children from using the vast educational resources available on the Internet. Working with educators and librarians from around the nation, we know that connections to the Internet are only one part of the answer. The second part is the on-going monthly charges for access, and here we find that there is great disparity in what schools and libraries are paying for access. By way of illustration, we know that some districts are paying about $200 a month in access charges while others pay $2,000 for the same technology and services.

    In adopting the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress recognized for the first time the need to ensure that all schools and libraries are included in the context of Universal Service. Although we are making progress in connecting our schools, today only 9 percent of our classrooms are connected. For these reasons, this Administration supports a guarantee of universal access to advanced telecommunications and information services for every public, private, and parochial K-12 school and library in America. This proposal ensures that no school or library will be denied the opportunity to participate in the Information Age because of an inability to pay.

    This proposal supports the long-standing American tradition of providing free education to every American child. It builds on significant investments by schools and libraries. In fact, schools and libraries are investing million of dollars on computers, software, and teacher training. Those investments would be jeopardized if schools and libraries cannot afford to pay the monthly access charges. This proposal guarantees universal access to the Information Superhighway for every school and library in America.

    We recommend that the Joint Board endorse the concept and principles that we are presenting today as well as the framework for implementation that we propose. Under separate cover, we have requested that the Departments of Commerce and Education be permitted to present this proposal to the Joint Board at its meeting on October 17, 1996. At that time, we will further describe the goals and operation of the E-rate and be available to answer any question you may have.

Sincerely,

Richard W. Riley
Secretary of Education

Daniel R. Glickman
Secretary of Agriculture

Michael Kantor
Secretary of Commerce

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