Q: What is Linksys HomeWRK for Eductation | Secured by Fortinet?

A: The Linksys HomeWRK for Education solution is designed to offer a secure, broadband connection to students who don’t have adequate internet at home to do their homework.

Linksys HomeWRK is protected by the latest Fortinet security technology to filter inappropriate content and harmful malware. It helps schools comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requirements.

Q: What is the relationship between Fortinet and Linksys?

A: Fortinet and Linksys have formed a strategic partnership to provide joint solutions that optimize the performance and management of home networks in today’s remote-driven work environment. Linksys HomeWRK for Education is a Fortinet secured home networking solution, enabling K–12 students to learn from home effectively and safely.

Q: Which is the target market segment for Linksys HomeWRK for Education?

A: Linksys HomeWRK for Education is for K-12 schools and libraries in the United States only.

Q: What challenges does this Linksys HomeWRK for Education solution address?

A: We offer this solution to help public schools to close the homework gap. There are around 15-16 million K-12 students who do not have internet connection at home, especially students who live in rural areas or come from low-income families. Our solution is to enable these underprivileged students to get secure broadband access at home, without being left behind.

Q: What are the benefits for schools?

A: Digital divide has been a big problem across all U.S. public schools. With Linksys HomeWRK for Education, schools can offer students equal access to education by enabling them with reliable connectivity at home.

In addition, the school can benefit from our solution:

• Providing students with safe and secure internet access that meets CIPA requirements
• Reduce IT burden by providing students with zero-provisioning, plug-n-play devices
• Relieving the budget stress with solution paid by government funding

Q: What products are included in the Linksys HomeWRK for Education solution?

A: Each student will have a Linksys 4G/LTE mobile hotspot and a monthly data plan chosen from 5

available unlimited data plans.

Note: We are planning to introduce more hardware options to meet different district’s and students’ needs. We will provide more information when they are available.

Q: How much is Linksys HomeWRK for Education?

A: Schools needs to purchase a mobile hotspot that is paired with a data plan for each student. Contact Sales for pricing on a data plan that best fits your district's needs:

• Unlimited Standard: Using >2GB/month may notice reduced speeds
• Unlimited Plus: Using >5B/month may notice reduced speeds
• Unlimited Premium: Using >10GB/month may notice reduced speeds
• Unlimited Platinum: Using >20GB/month may notice reduced speeds
• Unlimited Platinum Plus: Using >40GB/month may notice reduced speeds

Note: Certain limits and restrictions may apply. Compatible equipment required. Upon reaching your high-speed data allowance, speed may be slowed to a max of 128Kbps for the remainder of your bill cycle. Coverage not available in some areas. During times of congestion, data may be temporarily slower than other traffic.

Q: Can a school have a mix of different data plans for different students?

A: No. This is currently not available. A school is required to have one plan for all students, choosing from available data plans. A school can move to a higher data plan if more data is needed for their

students.

Q: Are these data plans taxable?

A: No. The data plan is not taxable, only the hardware is taxable.

Q: What happens if my students reach the cap of the data plans?

A: Once an allotment of high-speed data is reached, your students will still have internet access, but the speed might drop to 128Kbps for the remaining month.

Q: How can a school order the Linksys HomeWRK for Education solution?

A: We have set up the following education SKUs in our system for channel partners to help schools

fulfill their purchase needs:

• Linksys HomeWRK mobile hotspot (LKS-HMWRKEDU-MBLHTSPT)
• Linksys Mobile data: Unlimited Standard (LKS-MBL-EDUUNLSTD-01)
• Linksys Mobile data: Unlimited Plus (LKS-MBL-EDUUNLPLS-01)
• Linksys Mobile data: Unlimited Premium (LKS-MBL-EDUUNLPRM-01)
• Linksys Mobile data: Unlimited Platinum (LKS-MBL-EDUUNLPLT-01)
• Linksys Mobile data: Unlimited Platinum Plus (LKS-MBL-EDUUNLPLTPLS-01)

Note: Certain limits and restrictions may apply. Compatible equipment required. Upon reaching your high-speed data allowance, speed may be slowed to a max of 128Kbps for the remainder of your bill cycle. Coverage not available in some areas. During times of congestion, data may be temporarily slower than other traffic. 

Q: Is there any competitor offering a similar solution? What are your advantages?

A: Yes, there are players like AT&T, T-Mobile, Kajeet, offering hotspots and data plans for students

don’t have internet access at home, but not all of them are the same.

• Our biggest advantage is that we have broader coverage. These competitors only offer services under one carrier which may lack broadband coverage in some rural areas. Our Linksys Mobile network is combining the coverage from several top carriers – AT&T and TMobile that picks the available services in an area to ensure uninterrupted connection.
• The other advantage is the solution is secured by Fortinet, a cybersecurity leader recognized by Gartner and many industry analysts. Schools can have peace of mind that their students have secure internet access protected by a trusted security vendor.
• We also deliver a better customer experience. Our customer-centric partners also play a vital role because of their expertise in broadband connectivity and knowledge in government funding. They help schools enable student’s connectivity that is paid for by federal grant.

Q: What are Fortinet’s security features in Linksys HomeWRK?

A: The Linksys HomeWRK for Education solution is designed to help schools meet the CIPA (Childress Internet Protection Act) compliance, including the latest security features:

• Web content filtering. Filters web pages containing specific content, words or patterns. Fortinet security helps prevent access from students to any inappropriate content or website with security risks.
• Antivirus. Protects schools’ devices and networks by Intelligently blocking malware from cyberattacks that cause data breaches, disrupt operations, or steal sensitive information.
• Application control. Analyzes application traffic and blocks risky applications in real time to optimize the connectivity performance and safeguard your school network.
• Intrusion prevention. Detects and stops known and zero-day threats before they reach your students’ devices by applying AI/ML-driven threat intelligence with thousands of intrusion prevention rules.
• SSL deep inspection. Protects schools and students from attacks that use HTTPS, it also protects schools and students from other commonly-used SSL-encrypted protocols such as SMTPS, POP3S, IMAPS, and FTPS.

Q: Can a school customize the web filtering rules?

A. This is not available in the initial launch. We have provided a set of universal security and web filtering rules based on what most of the schools apply to meet CIPA compliance.

If a school wants to customize its filtering rules, its IT team can reach out to the Fortinet Channel Partner who has been working with the school on the Linksys HomeWRK solution. We will work with our channel partners to meet the school needs.

Q: Is there any usage report available for a school?

A: The traffic from all the hotspots goes through a cluster of FortiGates and each school district has its own CIDR range. We can run a report for a school district and have it emailed to the requested point of contact automatically.

Q: Can we support schools who need multiple years of data plans?

A: Yes. A school can have a pre-paid multi-year data plan for their students. For example, if a school needs a Unlimited Standard data plan for 3 years, they can order 3 x annually SKUs for each student.

Q: Do my resellers get margin for selling Linksys hardware and data plans?



A: Yes, it is no different from selling other Fortinet products. Resellers selling Linksys hardware and data plans will gain revenue, so as margin over the cost they agree with their distributors. 

Q: What is the difference between Linksys HomeWRK and FortiExtender?

A: FortiExtender is designed for businesses to provide a reliable WAN connection to a firewall, using the cellular LTE infrastructure. It can be deployed as part of Fortinet SD-WAN to improve network uptime and reliability.

Linksys HomeWRK is designed to offer consumers (e.g., students) an LTE connection at home through a simple mobile hotspot and affordable subscription plans.

Q: What government’s stimulus funding can school apply for Linksys HomeWRK?

A: There are several federal programs that Linksys HomeWRK is qualified, such as Emergency Connectivity Fun (ECF), Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER I, II, III), fund, and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funding.

Q: What is the warranty and Terms & Conditions for Linksys HomeWRK mobile hotspot?

A: Please find the warranty information as well as Terms & Conditions for Linksys hardware here.

Q: Is there a number if a school needs assistance in support?

A: Yes. Please contact Linksys’s Customer Services team at 800-737-7202.

Q: My school already has FortiGate. Can the school IT manage Linksys HomeWRK devices through FortiGate’s management platform?

A: A school‘s IT does not have visibility to Linksys HomeWRK devices from Fortinet environment. Linksys HomeWRK hardware is a provisioning-free device, designed for students to easily plug and play at their homes, without IT’s assistance.