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The National Educational Broadband Service Association (NEBSA) and The Source for Learning, Inc., announce the Wireless Broadband* Education Competition.

Over the next several years, wireless systems for distributing data, voice, and video will become widely available with increased capacity and speed throughout the United States. Educational Broadband Service (EBS) is spectrum designated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in which this improved wireless broadband will be available. EBS frequencies are licensed to educational and nonprofit organizations which have an obligation to use a portion of their spectrum to provide educational services.

Although many of the applications for teaching and learning currently in instructional technology can either be adapted or extended through use of wireless broadband, the improved wireless capacity also has attributes which enable and support new educational applications such as anywhere/anytime learning.

The purpose of this competition is to challenge educational practitioners at every level to consider the possibilities of expanded wireless broadband. Since this competition looks to the future, the current limitations of wireless technology and/or financial considerations should not limit the scope or purpose of any proposal.

*What is Wireless Broadband (WB)?

Wireless broadband (WB) is a transmission method that permits very large amounts of data, video and voice information to be exchanged simultaneously among multiple users at very high rates of speed independent of any wired interconnection. This could include connecting to web-based resources or to any data network but could also include entirely new uses for data and more.

The key features:
• Wireless broadband is very fast.
• Wireless broadband is high-capacity (can move LOTS of information/pictures/video/audio -- ANY data -- at a time).
• Wireless broadband can work on many kinds of devices, large and small, including some that do not yet exist.
• Wireless broadband can be used in unlimited locations (portable and mobile).
• Wireless broadband can be used anytime (not limited to school day, for example)

For students of all ages, WB can be the means to access the educational opportunities they seek wherever they are and whenever they wish.