South Carolina moves toward free statewide broadband access for all

[Doondoo]

A state House resolution approved Wednesday is a first step toward giving everyone in South Carolina -- residents, businesses and visitors -- free broadband Internet access.

The measure, co-authored by Greenville Rep. Dwight Loftis, creates a South Carolina Wireless Technology and Communications Commission that would implement a statewide wireless broadband network. South Carolina would be the first state to have statewide wireless broadband Internet, Loftis said.

The network would benefit schools, individuals, businesses and health care, particularly in rural areas, said Greg Foster, spokesman for state House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who also co-authored the resolution. The commission would evaluate various issues surrounding the feasibility of creating and implementing a statewide network.

Small business owners could access the Internet from anywhere in the state and conduct business, Foster said. Home health-care workers and emergency medical personnel could send information from patients' monitors directly to hospitals, Loftis said.

South Carolina already owns infrastructure including cellular towers and frequencies that makes the idea possible, said Loftis, who has been working on it for more than a year. The idea is to leverage the state infrastructure and work with private Internet providers, Loftis said. A basic level of service would be free inside the state, but the providers would still charge fees for faster speeds, he said.


http://yourupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070222/NEWS01/702220330/-1/YOURUPSTATE

[dogday]

1. They announced the other day that the City of Houston

will have free broadband service by 2009......

[Eurobabe]

2. Ironic that the state that wants to secede and has the biggest number of freeps

will be getting free broadband. The rest of us must be doing something wrong! :wtf:

edit, spelling ACK!! my brain is off today!

[msongs]

3. if you have to watch advertisements it is NOT free... nt

[Doondoo]

4. bump

[Solo_in_MD]

5. This may not be a good thing due to spammers

It doesn't matter if you are spamming for peace or ED drugs, its still spam and the unlimited/open service will only make it worse. The blocklists and other anti spam tactics will have to become even more militant and agressive to keep email usable. When you make net access a utility/right/entitlement, it makes it very hard to shut down spammers and scammers. For example, as long as you pay your bill, the telco has to provide a connection, even if you are selling snake oil.