E-Rate for the Community

As children become technology literate, parents are clamoring to catch up. The E-Rate spurs demand for and deployment of the Internet in communities across America.

In the small rural town of Bakersfield, Missouri, the Bakersfield R-4 School District was the first to get broadband connectivity and, because of the high cost of broadband services, the schools are the only institutions in the community able to afford it.

The E-Rate fosters new partnerships in the community.

Schools and libraries are also partnering with local museums, community institutions, and even, in some cases, local government and business. "(The E-Rate) has added a sense that the community was working together and sharing resources. The barriers have started to come down," said the library director in East Troy, Wisconsin.