Closing the Homework Gap with ECF
USAT Use Case | School Bus WiFi Helps Bridge Digital Divide
MEET DEONNA - Deonna is the head of technology within her districts’ board of education. In response to COVID-19 pandemic, her departments priorities shifted virtually overnight. She needed to get student learning materials online, and moreover, she needed to get educators and students struggling with little to no internet access online as well. She put several plans into action to help close the ‘digital divide’, but CARES Act funding eventually ran out.
Challenges Faced | CLOSING THE HOMEWORK GAP
After building and launching a new online learning platform in 2020, Deonna obtained CARES Act funding to provide students without home computers WiFi enabled laptops and tablets. She also requested and received funding that allowed her district to provide in-home cellular routers to students in areas without access to broadband internet and to home educators who needed secure access to the districts network and distance learning platforms.
But there was still a problem. Many students, even those with computers and smart devices still did not have reliable access to the internet, and the funding deadlines had come and gone. Thankfully, the FCC just launched a new program to help further bridge the digital divide.
The FCC’s new Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) is providing 7.17 billion dollars to school systems like Deonna’s that are still struggling to provide every one of their students with reliable internet access.
USAT is helping educational institutions build and maintain Knowledge Area Networks (KAN) by providing the end-to-end communications solutions they need for students to learn at home, in school, and while in transit to both.
Solution Delivered | THE CONNECTED SCHOOL BUS
Deonna realized the funding she receives this year still wouldn’t be enough to place a cellular router in every student home. And even if it did she realized that home environments can be unpredictable. With schools starting to reopen, she realized her district needed cost-effective solutions that would provide the ability to deliver secure and regulated internet access to the largest number of students possible, in as safe and controlled of an environment as possible, whether those students were at home or in-transit to school.
The Results | CONNECTIVITY ON AND AROUND THE BUS
The USAT team helped select, provision, activate, and install purpose-built mobile routers and high-powered antenna assemblies within all of her districts transportation vehicles. Students could now do homework on their way to and from each school building, and at home during scheduled visits to neighborhoods with the greatest need in high student density areas.
Additionally, Deonna can now utilize the additional benefits of connected vehicles including live video monitoring, automatic vehicle location, telemetry information, and more - all monitored and controlled via software included with the purchase of each router.
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Why Choose USAT?
For 25+ years USAT has provided expert IoT communications solutions to education institutions to build secure and reliable knowledge area networks (KAN). Our team supports each and every aspect of your mission-critical connectivity projects. All our solutions utilize only the highest quality equipment from the most trusted manufacturers worldwide.
Our DevProv+ services team configures, provisions, kits and ships your devices hot and ready for immediate use. And our installation teams ensure your devices are functioning securely, reliably, and at peak performance.
Reach out to USAT today to rapidly deploy solutions that meet your cellular communications needs:
- Give Us a Call: (919) 942-4214
- Send Us an Email: info@usatcorp.com
- Request a Consultant: Click Here
Recommended Equipment for School Bus WiFi
Government Funding
USAT is helping public educators obtain powerful connectivity solutions with Emergency Connectivity Funds.
School Bus WiFi
School systems needed to provide internet access to as many students as possible, as fast as possible, due to current health crisis.
Student Internet
USAT is helping school districts get their students and teachers reliable home internet access for distance learning.
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