Is community Internet training the responsibility of the telecommunications provider?
The major telecommunications providers have been able to leverage E-rate funding to bring Internet access via satellite to many Alaskan villages but with a prohibition against using it for two of the greatest needs: home access and Ecommerce. The telecommunications providers do not typically provide community training opportunities beyond the schools need for local technical maintenance. The recent E-rate waiver has severe limitations which continue to restrict home and Ecommerce applications. As noted above, there may be no profit incentive to provide or encourage training. Is community Internet training the responsibility of the school or school district? Though high costs for Internet access have been paid, there has been minimal investment in ongoing training for educators. The recommended rule of thumb is to invest one dollar for training for every dollar spent for infrastructure. However, this is rarely the case. As a direct result of minimal training – most of the Internet acces
