The e-rate, the regulation that schools are entitled to a 50% discount on their Internet connectivity bills, is dead, says Jenny King, head of the e-Schools Network.
“So far, no schools are benefitting from the e-rate. It is dead, it is not being implemented and it probably never will be,” King told ITWeb at the e-Schools Network Innovate 2010 conference, in Cape Town.
Former communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri first promulgated the e-rate in September 2003, in terms of the defunct Telecommunications Act. It was later incorporated into the Electronic Communications Act, but has never been implemented fully.
In March, telecommunications regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of SA, began public hearings into the e-rate with the aim of introducing proper regulations to achieve it. However, no regulations have been released yet.
“It was an idea that came from a good place, with good intentions; however, it has been impossible to implement,” King commented.
She said the e-rate is supposed to include all that is required to deliver bandwidth to schools, including the lines, servers and modems, plus the bandwidth itself.
“The e-rate will never happen if it will cut into peoples' [Internet service providers'] costs,” King said.
According to King, the only ISP that is currently offering a discount is MWeb, on its uncapped ADSL offering.
King added: “If government really wanted to, it could implement the e-rate.”
She said there are proposals that have been put forward to the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) that could help bring down the cost of connectivity.
“The fact that the Universal Service and Access Fund is not ring-fenced by the National Treasury is a problem, and the first step would be to ensure the R1.2 billion sitting there is made available.”
King said that she, as a member of the Internet Service Providers' Association management committee, and several other non-governmental organisations have met with USAASA to propose a means to alleviate the cost of school connectivity.
“The proposal was well received by USAASA, as they need a flagship project, but it still needs a lot of work,” she noted.
King said the proposal would include using microwave towers situated on high sites linked to fibre-optic cables to bring broadband to schools.
The Department of Communications had not commented by the time of publication.
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