BNMC Blog
What’s Your E-rate Plan? Three Things to Consider
According to Scott Grebe, schools and libraries applying for E-rate funds also need to have a plan. And he isn't talking about figuring out who is going to complete and file Form 470 and when it should be submitted. He believes it's about understanding your current network infrastructure and how you will use the funds to build a better, faster version that delivers on new initiatives over the next few years. When you’re building out your plan, here are three things you should consider.
1. Look ahead three to five years.
Considering how fast technology changes, three years will keep you on top of new developments although five years is more practical from a cost perspective. E-rate Category 2 services such as firewalls, routers, switches and access points continue to evolve rapidly with new features and faster speeds. For example, today’s firewalls can block threats such as ransomware that the previous generation can’t, and those legacy firewalls are only a few years old.
2. Don’t let hardware slow you down
The use of online learning in the classroom continues to grow. So too does the use of bandwidth-intensive apps. When evaluating products that will go into your infrastructure, understand how much of your current capacity is being used. Then buffer that by 20% to 30% to plan for future growth. Just as important, make sure any hardware you look at can handle the increase in bandwidth. Otherwise it can become a bottleneck in the network.
3. Let someone else manage security for you.
Something that schools and libraries may not be aware of is that they can outsource security as a Managed Internal Broadband Service within Category 2. This covers services provided by a third party for the operation, management, and monitoring of eligible broadband internal connections components. The good news with this approach is that you won’t incur any upfront capital expenditures, you typically pay a low monthly subscription fee and you have a predictable annual expense model.
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