EPS: New broadband provider program to replace students' hot spot checkout program

May 8—Households with students who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches also will automatically qualify for a new federal program that would temporarily lower broadband internet service costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enid Public Schools officials said the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program would replace the district's current — and free — service providing one mobile Wi-Fi hot spot each to EPS households.

Enrollment begins Wednesday for the Federal Communication Commission's $3.2 billion program.

Qualifying households can receive a discount of up to $50 a month through their participating broadband provider — or up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands. Qualifying service providers will receive the funds directly from the benefit program, according to the FCC.

The EBB program also provides up to a $100 per household discount toward a one-time purchase of a computer, laptop or tablet if the household contributes more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase through a broadband provider.

The EBB program is temporary, lasting until six months after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declares the COVID-19 pandemic is over or if the program runs out of money — whichever is sooner, according to the Universal Administrative Service Co.

Participating households will need to opt-in to continue receiving broadband services from their provider after the program ends.

Along with the school lunch programs, households also are eligible if they have an income at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or participate in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid or the FCC's Lifeline program; received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; experienced a "substantial" income loss through job loss or furlough since Feb. 29, 2020, and met certain income requirements.

Households also are eligible if they already meet the eligibility criteria for a service provider's existing low-income or COVID-19 program.

Around 70 mobile and fixed broadband providers in Oklahoma will participate in the EBB program, including Suddenlink, AT&T, Cox, Nextlink Internet, Pioneer and Verizon.

The program would replace EPS' mobile hot spot program once the latter's funding grant ends after June, the district's director of informational and instructional technology said Wednesday.

Students are being asked to return the hot spots at the end of the regular school year or after summer school in June.

Though the emergency broadband program is temporary, EPS IT director Jeffery Herbel said he still thinks it's a better alternative than the hot spots, which have had poor signal issues since the district began providing them almost two years ago.

"It goes above and beyond what we've been providing with the hot spot. Everyone has access to it," Herbel said of the EBB program. "It will be better internet. It will be more consistent than the hot spot."

The hot spots, which provide a wireless internet connection, are available to secondary EPS students through a two-year grant from T-Mobile USA, also now an EBB participant.

Two years before the T-Mobile grant began, a survey found 65% of EPS families didn't have home internet, Herbel said.

During the past school year, EPS had to start limiting how many hot spots could be checked out once all students went to distance learning and more then stayed in virtual-only education, Herbel said.

Many of the district's 4,000 hot spots have been checked out this year (one per household), he said, but the district does not keep track of how many of those same households also qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Herbel said he expects the benefit program to run through June of next year for EPS families.

Eligible households can enroll in the program through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail-in application. Additional information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit is available at www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling (833) 511-0311 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. any day of the week.

Ewald is copy editor and city/education reporter for the Enid News & Eagle.

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