For Immediate Release:
Contact: Paige Darden
202-482-1551

October 10, 1996

CLINTON ADMINISTRATION CALLS FOR FREE BASIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONNECTIONS TO EVERY K-12 SCHOOL AND LIBRARY IN THE COUNTRY

"Today, I call on the FCC, when it votes, to give every elementary, middle and high school and library in the country the lowest possible E-rate: free basic service to the Internet. For more sophisticated services, like teleconferencing, the FCC should require discounted rates, with the deepest discounts going to the poorest schools and areas. I urge the FCC and the state regulators who have a say in this to make the E-rate a reality for our schools."

President William J. Clinton, Knoxville, Tennessee, October 10, 1996.

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Joint Board on Universal Service today, proposed a plan that would guarantee universal access to telecommunications and information services for every school and library in America. The plan, referred to as the E-rate (education rate), provides a framework for ensuring that access to these services for schools and libraries is affordable. President Clinton and Vice President Gore announced the E-rate during an event focusing on education and technology today in Knoxville, Tennessee.

"Two decades ago, when I was a Member of Congress, I dreamed of a time when a young girl could use a computer from her school or home to tap into the tremendous resources of the Library of Congress," said Vice President Gore, who first issued, on behalf of President Clinton, the challenge to connect every classroom, library, hospital and clinic to the Information Superhighway by the year 2000. "Today that dream is fast becoming a reality. The E-rate will help to ensure that all of our nation's young people -- rich and poor, urban and rural -- have access through their schools and libraries to the benefits of the communications revolution."

"As schools and libraries invest in computers, software and teacher training, we must make sure that they can pay the connection charge each month. Our plan guarantees that no school or library will be denied the opportunity to participate in the Information Age because of an inability to pay, said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor. "We are pleased that this framework is designed in a manner that will allow schools and libraries to benefit from the robust and newly competitive telecommunications market. Most importantly, today's filing represents the Administration's strong commitment to ensuring that all our citizens, particularly our school-aged children, are prepared and able to be full participants in the Information Age."

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 contained an amendment, sponsored by Senators Snowe, Rockefeller, Exon, and Kerrey, and strongly supported by the Clinton Administration, that called for discounted rates for telecommunications and information services for every public, private and parochial K-12 school and every library. Last spring, Representative Markey and Senator Dorgan first proposed a free E-rate for basic connections. As required by the Act, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has appointed a Joint Board on Universal Service to develop rules for implementation of this amendment.

The Administration's E-rate plan is flexible, market-based, technology neutral, invites competition, and reflects the changing needs of schools and libraries. It is a two-tiered approach that in its first tier proposes a basic package of services be made available to all schools and libraries at no cost to them. Telecommunications service providers would be reimbursed from the industry's universal support system. The basic package includes Internet access and sufficient bandwidth to support educational needs, and brings that connection into the school or library. In the second tier, a bidding process would allow schools and libraries to purchase additional services at deeply discounted rates -- the ceiling for these bids would be the best commercially available rates in that region or state. Inside wiring, or networking, is included in this tier. The plan also provides additional discounts for low-income and high-cost areas, which are often rural, to have access to these services.

"Technological literacy is a critical skill for America's students to succeed in the 21st century. Simply put, today's work force rewards those workers who possess computer literacy skills and tomorrow's work force will demand computer literacy skills. In order to prepare our children to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, universal access to the Information Superhighway will be critical," said Kantor, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, in a letter to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt that accompanied the filing.

Today's filing was made in response to the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the matter of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service (CC Docket No. 96-45).

The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration serves as the principal adviser to the President, Vice President and Secretary of Commerce on domestic and international communications and information issues and represents the Executive Branch before the Congress, other Federal agencies, foreign governments and international organizations.

Copies of the filing are available via Internet at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/new.html or by calling NTIA's Office of Public Affairs at 202-482-3999.