Lawmaker is House author of program

Washington, D.C. - Senator Edward J. Markey (DMass.) today applauded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for taking action today to update the successful Erate program to support highspeed broadband for digital learning technologies in the 21 ^st century. Senator Markey is House author of the Erate program, which was included in the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Since 1996, when only 14 percent of K12 classrooms had Internet access, the nation benefits from near ubiquitous deployment today.  

"I commend the FCC for beginning the process of updating and strengthening the Erate program for the future,"said Senator Markey. "Connecting schools and libraries with high speed will help our country maintain its technological edge in education and our students succeed in the 21st century. With technology expanding into nearly every facet of our lives, we need to ensure our students remain connected and competitive in the global economy. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues and the FCC to ensure we continue to make expansion and improvement of this program a priority moving forward."

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