BALTIMORE — Some people in Baltimore still don't have easy access to the internet. That impacts students, jobs and families. An expansion of the E-Rate Program will benefit libraries throughout Baltimore City, keeping thousands connected.
It's something that we can take for granted as it seems to be everywhere we go, but just the simple task of connecting to the internet is not accessible to everyone.
"In this age, in the 21st century, having access to the internet is as important as it was to have access to electricity,” said U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen.
It's a gap that was more pronounced during COVID, and teachers like Angela Watson noticed.
"It started with the homework divide, you know, so, they couldn't do their homework, but as we moved into the pandemic and being virtual, I definitely saw the difference with students not having access to the internet to complete assignments,” said Angela Watson, a teacher.
That's when the Emergency Connectivity Fund helped make that connection. A $7 billion program which provided equipment for students and teachers to connect to the internet at home. The Enoch Pratt Library was able to purchase 2,000 hotspots for Baltimore City.
"We loan those hotspots out just like books, with your library card, to provide connectivity inside so many of our homes where families don't have reliable access to internet,” said Meghan McCorkell, the Enoch Pratt Free Library Spokesperson.
It's the service support system known as E-Rate. It became essential in many households, but that fund expired in the past few weeks. Leaving the libraries scrambling to fund the data plans. An expense they weren't planning to budget.
"We knew we cannot turn off those hotspots to those two 2,000. They are vitally important to the people that need them. So, we were trying to look for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding,” said McCorkell.
That's when the FCC and Senator Van Hollan stepped in and expanded the E-Rate Program. Now, libraries and school libraries can get extraordinary, discounted data plans on those hotspots.
"We decided that going forward, the E-Rate program will support WI-FI hotspots for loan in libraries and school libraries across the country," said Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC Chairwoman
There are 22 Pratt libraries across Baltimore City, with 969 holds waiting in line to get a hotspot. The next step for Pratt Libraries is to expand the program to purchase more hotspots with the money they will save on data plans.
