TCO Checklist:
Connectivity

Considerations for Connectivity

Stay Updated on taking TCO to the classroom Sign up now for the periodic taking TCO to the classroom newsletter!

The costs of connecting to the Internet are a relatively small proportion of the total costs of educational technology. Although these costs are usually included in projections of what it will cost to wire the nation's schools, they have not always been included in traditional Total Cost of Ownership calculations in the business world because a business's computers may not be connected to the Internet or a Wide Area Network.

In a projection of the costs of computer labs prepared by McKinsey & Company, Inc., connection costs represented only 8 percent of the budget initially and 15 percent of ongoing costs; in a model when all classrooms were connected, these costs represented 4 percent of the initial deployment costs and 7 percent of the ongoing costs. The study assumed that regular telephone lines would be the primary means of Internet connection in the computer lab model, while T-1 lines would be used in the classroom model.

Some states have created statewide networks that provide schools with very low-cost or free access to the Internet. Although telecommunications charges can tend to be higher if a school district is located in a remote area, E-rate discounts on telecommunications services should help those districts pay for these charges.

School districts may decide that they can afford to purchase only a certain level of connectivity-for instance, a 56 Kbps Internet connection instead of a T-1 line. However, there will be a tradeoff in terms of the speed with which students and staff can communicate, connect to the Internet, and download graphic and video-intensive files. This, in turn, could have an impact on how staff members and students spend their available time.