A big component of the Federal Communication Commission's national broadband strategy is to turn "anchor institutions"—schools, libraries, and government buildings—into 1Gbps hubs of community access for high speed Internet. The agency took that agenda one step further on Tuesday by announcing that schools and libraries will soon be able to use E-Rate funds to obtain access to unused fiber-optic connections around the country, sometimes known as "dark fiber" lines.

"With these fiber networks, schools and libraries can provide students and communities with cutting-edge connectivity, while at the same time saving millions of dollars by bypassing more expensive options," the draft proposal explains.

E-Rate retooled

E-Rate (otherwise known as the Schools and Libraries Program) has been suffering from something of an identity crisis, of late. The program reimburses these institutions for computer and networking equipment. It's part of the FCC's Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes phone service for low income residents and rural areas.

But a Government Accountability Office audit released last year noted that many E-Rate recipients have pretty much bought all the end-user computer gear they can. In fact, 97 percent of American schools and nearly all public libraries now have basic Internet access. The report criticized the FCC for lacking a coherent strategy to retool E-Rate to help schools and libraries get from basic to broadband.

So this fiber announcement is clearly part of the agency's bid to get it's E-Rate groove back. An impending Order from the Commission will make it "easier for schools and libraries to get the highest speeds for the lowest prices by cutting red tape and increasing their options for broadband providers," the FCC promises. This has got to be at least partial music to the ears of libraries, whose representatives have been begging the agency to help them get access to fiber and pay for the costs.

School spots

Dark fiber is an interesting phenomenon—in part a by-product of the dot.com era of the late 1990s, in which many telecommunications companies rolled out far more fiber-optic cable than could be leased or sold as the high tech market collapsed in 2000.

The FCC hopes that schools that tap into this unused resource will, in turn, open their fast fiber connections to the cities, towns, and neighborhoods that they serve. In broadband parlance, these centers are referred to as "school spots," and they've sprung up around the country in interesting ways.

In West Virginia, for example, various school districts have opened up their Internet access labs to community use. Following April's coal mining disaster at Upper Big Branch, one school gave its broadband facilities over to first responders and media to help with search and rescue efforts.

Then there's the Tri-County Educational Service Center in Wooster, Ohio, which offers a variety of E-learning programs under the rubric of its Virtual Learning Academy. The Center serves about 30,000 students across three counties and 19 school districts. Tri-County saved 50 percent on its broadband bills via dark fiber, along with a huge boost in network speeds.

Ditto for the Wasatch School District of Wasatch County, Utah, which rolled out its own fiber system at an estimated savings of $4 million over a decade.

More details on this policy initiative at the FCC's Open Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday, which will also include new rules on white space broadband.