FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WASHINGTON OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN The Honorable Mark Begich United States Senate 111 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Begich: August 27, 2014 Thank you for your letter expressing your views on modernizing theE-rate program. Like you, I am deeply committed to ensuring that the E-rate program continues to serve the purpose for which it was established and remains strong and sustainable well into the future. Your views are very important and will be included in the record of the proceeding and considered as part of the Commission's review. I greatly appreciate your recognition of the importance of ensuring Wi-Fi connectivity inside classrooms and libraries. The E-rate Modernization Order adopted by the Commission in July takes significant steps to address the Wi-Fi gap in America's schools and libraries, setting an annual funding target of $1 billion for Wi-Fi, and establishing a fairer method for distributing funds so that all schools and libraries can benefit, including far more mral schools than in the past. This is an important step, given that 40 percent of classrooms are not currently Wi-Fi ­ enabled and nearly two-thirds of schools indicate that they do not have sufficient Wi-Fi capacity to meet their digital learning needs. The Order funds this support for Wi-Fi through the combination of funds already available for this purpose, and utilizes savings associated with transitioning support from non-broadband services to broadband. Prior to the July Order, E-rate was able to support Wi-Fi funding requests for less than five percent of schools and one percent of libraries. Over the next two years, the Commission ' s July Order will help up to 20 million students and thousands oflibraries gain access to Wi-Fi, all while increasing Wi-Fi support available to both mral and urban areas, and not compromising funding for Internet connectivity. I also appreciate your concern that the Commission not adopt a funding mechanism that adversely impacts the basic Internet connectivity that is so important to Alaska's mral schools. As an initial matter, we believe that there will be sufficient funds to support basic broadband connectivity even as we ramp up support for Wi-Fi inside classrooms and libraries. Nevertheless, to address the concern that you have raised, the Order ensures that adequate funding will be available for broadband connectivity to schools and libraries before funding is made available for Wi-Fi. Moreover, to make E-rate dollars go even further, the Order adopts transparency measures to provide applicants with the pricing and connectivity data needed to make smart Page 2-The Honorable Mark Begich purchasing decisions, encourages consortia purchasing to drive down prices, and ensures that applicants are selecting from the best possible bids through the lowest corresponding price rule . The Order also makes several changes to help make the E-rate processes faster, simpler, and more efficient for all stakeholders. It streamlines the application process by simplifying review of multi-year contracts, expediting small dollar, cost-effective applications, speeding review of all applications, requiring electronic filing, and enabling direct connections between schools and libraries. E-rate modernization is one of the most impottant issues before the Commission today and the Order is a common sense, responsible step toward meeting that goal. We have an opportunity to make a real, positive difference in the lives of millions of students. As always, I welcome your input and look forward to continuing to work with you, and to seeing firsthand the benefits ofE-rate in building connectivity to Alaska' s rural and remote schools. Sincerely, Tom Wheeler