Dive Brief:

• According to the State Education Technology Directors Association, just 63% of districts offer what the association deems a sufficient broadband capacity, a hole that districts are scrambling to fill with a patchwork of strategies.
• Under Obama, the federal government has offered incentives to companies expanding broadband access to schools and rural areas but many gaps remain.
• Districts have also turned to buying up space on ''dark" — or installed but unused — fiber.

Dive Insight:

Even if they won't benefit from the Obama administration's expansion or have access to dark fiber, districts have options for boosting their internet connectivity, within a budget. District Administration pulled together a list of tricks for doing so, including partnering with other, larger districts to pool contracts and benchmarking prices against what other districts are paying. New technology will also allow districts to ramp up how much bandwidth they have available from day to day.

Still, it's worth noting that increasing bandwidth can lead to a host of new issues. Experts recommend upgrading switches and routers and making sure existing internet safeguards such as firewalls can handle capacity increases.

Recommended Reading

District Administration: Schools boost broadband to meet demand