Jun 09, 2022

The Broadband Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Identifies and Connects Schools to CalREN

A worldwide pandemic hasn’t slowed CENIC’s commitment to expand high-capacity fiber-based broadband network connectivity to California’s K-12 schools.

CENIC’s current last-mile efforts for K-12 are funded through the Broadband Infrastructure Grant (BIG) program, which was created in 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom and the California State Legislature to identify and implement fiber-based broadband solutions for K-12 schools lacking broadband connectivity.

The BIG program emerged from CENIC’s success in supporting the Broadband Infrastructure Improvement Grant (BIIG) project that has connected nearly 90 percent of K-12 schools in California. As a result of CENIC’s work on these two state-funded initiatives, close to 500 schools and 200,000 students have gained access to the California Research and Education Network (CalREN), predominantly by obtaining circuits that connect schools to their local school districts or County Offices of Education. This latest work to extend service to the remaining 10 percent of schools seeks to overcome a series of unique connectivity challenges.

CENIC and its partners have worked tirelessly over its 25-year history to connect educational institutions to CalREN, a high-capacity broadband network with more than 8,000 miles of fiber and over 100 peering relationships. Founded by the state’s research universities, today CalREN serves more than 20 million Californians, including the vast majority of K-20 students and educators. CalREN responds to the needs of faculty, staff, students, and associated research groups to facilitate excellence in science, education, and government and private sector collaboration and innovation.

“Identifying and implementing connectivity solutions for underserved schools and districts has been a collective effort by a broad community, and CENIC is proud to be part of it,” said CENIC President and CEO Louis Fox. “The BIG program is helping to prepare students to be successful in the future by increasing digital learning opportunities and empowering students and teachers.”

BIG allows CENIC staff to work in close coordination with local school staff, administrators, and IT specialists to identify eligible school sites, ensure compliance with E-rate and CTF and complete the required paperwork, coordinate on-site surveys, technical reviews, equipment selection and configuration, support installation and testing of circuits, and aid in the supersedure process that transfers responsibility for ongoing costs to the BIG schools.

This program is currently accepting new applications in preparation for the E-rate cycle that begins in the summer of 2022, culminating in filing for E-rate in the Spring of 2023. If your school is not currently connected via fiber-based broadband, and you feel this program could benefit your students and teachers, please reach out to CENIC’s BIG program team at BIGprogram@cenic.org or fill out the application form, and CENIC program staff will contact you.

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