Whether you are a “techie” or not, you’ve probably heard the term “bandwidth” before.  You may not have given it much thought, but bandwidth is probably the most crucial issue facing 21st Century education.  I’m going to use this week’s Web 2.0 Weekly to introduce the issue and give some basic suggestions.  In the future, I hope that we can discuss this issue in greater detail using your comments and suggestions.

So, what is “bandwidth”?  Bandwidth is a measurement of how much data can flow through a network connection each second.  One way to think about bandwidth is to compare it to water pipes.  If you look on almost any newer water fixture, you’ll see a number followed by GPM or maybe GPF).  This refers to gallons per minute (or per flush).  A faucet rated for 12.5 GPM can pass 12.5 gallons of water each minute while one rated for 5 GPM can pass only 5.  With water fixtures, more water isn’t always better.  In fact, many new fixtures are being designed to use less water as part of conservation efforts.  In this respect, bandwidth isn’t like water fixtures, because more is always better.

Bandwidth is generally measured in megabits or gigabits per second (Mbps or Gbps).  It’s important to note here that a megabit (Mb) and a megabyte (MB) are two different measurements.  It takes 8 bits to make one byte, so a 1.5 Mbps connection can transfer 0.1875 MB each second (or about 5 seconds to transfer one megabyte).  As Web 2.0 and “cloud computing” become more important in the classroom, the importance of a solid, fast Internet connection rises as well.

Let’s look at this another way, let’s say you want to use high-def streaming video in the classroom (we won’t get in to a discussion about whether or not streaming HD is truly HD).  Most online sources are saying that streaming HD needs about 6 Mbps of bandwidth.  6 Mbps is a LOT of bandwidth!  It might not seem like it at first, but consider the following.  For years, the “gold standard” Internet connection for schools was a T-1 line.  T-1 is an industry recognized term that describes a particular way of connecting to the Internet with a specific amount of bandwidth (1.5 Mbps in this case).  As few as 5-10 years ago, one T-1 line was considered adequate bandwidth for a school with about 100 workstations.  So, for you to stream HD video to one workstation would require the full output of 4 T-1 lines!  Ouch!  What about cable modems?  Cable internet speeds vary dramatically across the United States.  in some areas, bandwidth tops out around 3 Mbps, while, in others, speeds of 50 Mbps or more might be available.  Price also varies drastically in various regions.

Another important consideration is the amount of data that your connection can upload to the Internet.  So far, we’ve only been talking about downloading content, but if your school has embraced the notion of students as content creators, you’ll need the bandwidth to get that content to the world.  This is also a major factor to consider if your school is hosting any sort of web servers, because the upload bandwidth is the most important in that application.  Here’s where things get a little complicated.  For whatever reason, most Internet connections in the United States are asynchronous, i.e., the download and upload speeds differ.  T-1 lines (and their related cousins) are synchronous, so they provide a full 1.5 Mbps for upload and download (this is one reason why these connections are still relatively expensive).  Most ISPs advertise only the download speed and require you to do some digging to determine the upload speed.  A fast 20 Mbps cable connection might only have an upload speed of 1.5 Mbps.  Again, this is something that varies widely.  And you may not need the same speed up as you do down.  It is largely dependent on how you plan to use your connection.

So, how much bandwidth does your school need?  This largely depends on how your school makes use of the Internet.  The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SEDTA) in 2008 recommended for technology-rich learning environments to have at least 10 Mbps per 1,000 students/staff for the next 2-3 years (2008-2011) and 100 Mbps per 1,000 students/staff for the next 5-7 years.  In my opinion, SEDTA’s recommendation isn’t as helpful as it could be because it doesn’t take into account the number of workstations accessing the Internet at any given time.  There is a substantial difference between a school with 500 teachers and students that has a ratio of 1 computer to every 5 students and the same school with a 1:1 computer initiative.  I’ve seen other recommendations (about 3 years ago) which suggested a schools connection to the Internet should be equal to 1.5 Mbps multiplied by the number of workstations (or the equivalent of a full T-1 for each workstation).  Yikes!

As I’m sure you’re realizing, providing an adequate connection to the Internet for your school is a daunting (and expensive) task.  And the amount of bandwidth needed is only going to increase in the future.  What can you do, then?

Here are some simple suggestions.

• Meet with your staff to determine how they make use of the Internet in their classes both in terms of additions to lessons (streaming videos, etc.) and in terms of activities for their students.  Also, find out how they would like to use it in the future.
• Talk with students to see how they make use of the Internet both at school and at home.
• Make increasing available Internet bandwidth an ongoing part of your school’s technology plan and budget.  Set aside money each year towards increasing bandwidth.
• File for federal E-rate funding.  E-rate can bring schools substantial rate discounts for Internet and telephone service.  Filling out the paperwork can be a bit of a chore, but worth it in the long-run.
• Work with a telecommunications consultant to find the best price on voice and data service.  Telecommunications consultants work with many service providers to bring you the best possible price for your needs.  Many of these consultants will provide free assessments and charge only if you decide to make a change.  They can even help you if you are under a multi-year contract.
• Upgrade your internal network to 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps.  This may be expensive initially, but the network performance increase will be immediately noticeable.  Depending on your current network, this may be as easy as simply replacing your networking hardware.  Remember to include network infrastructure in your tech plans and budgets.

How is your school handling increased bandwidth demands?  Has lack of bandwidth prevented any initiatives at your school?  We’d love to hear your experiences, thoughts, and suggestions on this issue.  Please use the contact form on the right-hand side of the page, or leave us a comment below or at our forum.