Leased Lit, Leased Dark, Or Self-Provisioned?

The E-Rate program has many rules and regulations and can sometimes take time to comprehend. Our goal here at WANRack is to make it easy to understand and educate our customers on all that is available to them while remaining compliant with the program!
 
As many of you know, we are in the middle of the 2023 E-Rate funding year. The funding year spans from July 1st to mid-March. This is an opportunity for school districts to release a form 470 or an RFP asking vendors to bid on their network and internet projects. Releasing a form 470 or RFP opens the competitive bidding process, allowing all vendors to put their best solution forward for the district to later review, score, and select the best and most cost-effective solution!
 
When connecting your school district, there are many solutions to consider, but which is the most cost-effective? Here are three types of fiber solutions that are eligible for E-Rate funding support:

1. Leased Lit Fiber is a broadband solution where the selected fiber provider owns, activates, and manages the network while the school district pays a monthly recurring fee to transport data over it.
   
   Pros: Convenience, Cheaper, and Service-Provider Managed
   Cons: Could be Shared Platform and Oversubscribed, and Service-Provider Managed
   

2. Leased Dark Fiber is a broadband solution where a school district leases fiber strands on a vendor-owned and maintained fiber network. With a dark fiber solution, the provider does not include equipment or transmit any data across the network. The school district is responsible for adding the electronics to make the fiber a functional (lit) connection. When requesting leased dark fiber bids, the applicant must also request leased lit fiber bids too!
   
   Pros: Stronger Security, Scalability, and Reliability
   Cons: Availability, Costs, and Management
   

3. Self-provisioned Network is a district-owned broadband network. A school district pays their selected fiber vendor to build a network that they will own, maintain, and operate. Self-provisioned networks tend to take more time to get approved through E-Rate. When requesting a Self-provisioned network, E-Rate requires you to request services over a third-party too. This is because it’s a one-time fee, and E-Rate encourages you to consider the total cost of ownership over 20 years.
   
   Pros: Owned by the District, Stronger Security, and Scalability
   Cons: District Contracts for Maintenance and Upkeep and Cost

 
Before your district decides on a network solution, it is beneficial to compare your options apples to apples. Remember, E-Rate requires applicants to consider bids from all vendors and select the most cost-effective solution.