The rationale and strategy for universal Internet service

By Brett Bursey
Director, SC Progressive Network

On April 15, South Carolina has to present a plan for the use of the state’s educational broadcasting capability that will be “excess capacity” due to the switch to digital broadcasting.

Because South Carolina is the only state that owns all the educational broadcasting licenses, we have the unique opportunity to be the first state to provide free wireless Internet to all citizens. The 67 licenses owned by SC ETV — and the taxpayer-funded infrastructure — are paid for, so the capability for statewide, free Internet is in hand.

Universal access to the Internet would be the single most significant thing we could do, at no cost to taxpayers, to improve educational, health care and employment opportunities for all South Carolinians; regardless of income or geographic location. Over 250,000 SC school children qualify for free lunches. Many of them also don’t have Internet access, or the skills and tools to take advantage of being online. Many rural communities don’t have Internet access.

The legislature created the Educational Broadband Service Commission to oversee what is referred to as the “educational broadband transition.” The state plans to lease the broadcast spectrum to private telecommunications companies and put the estimated $5 to $8 million annual revenue in the general fund. The actual and future value of the spectrum is unknown.

While we agree with the public/private partnership leases, we submit that the state’s priority concerns may not be reflected in the terms of the leases or the use of the revenue. We call on the Commission, the Joint Bond Review Committee and the Budget and Control Board to use South Carolina’s educational broadcast capabilities to:

• Create a “lifeline broadband service” that would provide a free universal access tier of Internet service for all citizens. This service would be at a level below subscription services and would introduce scores of thousands of new consumers to the Internet. These new users would provide a source of new customers for expanded subscription services to the lease holders.

• Establish a “Citizens Trust” that would use a percentage of the lease revenue to provide tools and training for citizens to access the Internet. Start with the quarter of a million children who can’t afford lunch.

South Carolina, through its already established Educational Broadcast capability, has the unique opportunity to lead the nation in closing the “digital divide.”

The state of Tennessee recently contracted with AT&T for a $600 million upgrade of its broadband network for schools and governments. The investment South Carolina started making in the 1970s puts our state ahead of Tennessee and other states that are now making major expenditures in educational broadband services.

We need to wisely leverage our investment to the benefit of our citizens and our future. For more information on this issue and to find out how you can get involved, call 803-808-3384.

While the SC Progressive Network fights to bring more democracy to this oft-backward state, our Republican-controlled legislature is working to make voting more difficult. Yesterday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Election Laws passed out a bill to require all voters to have a state-issued photo ID in order to vote. The argument for the bill is that it will prevent voters from fraudulently pretending to be someone else to cast multiple votes.

Ignoring testimony from the State Election Commission and Network Director Brett Bursey that there are no cases of this happening, and that the current system of requiring either a voter registration card or a state ID is working, the subcommittee passed the bill out to the full committee. Bursey presented the subcommittee with a report by the Brennan Center for Justice that concluded there was a higher chance of being struck by lightning while waiting to vote than someone stealing your identity to vote.

Since House Speaker Bobby Harrell is the prime sponsor of the bill, it is expected to pass the House.

The 2008 legislative elections again saw South Carolina as number one in the nation for the fewest contested races. Only 34 percent of the 170 legislative seats were contested in the general election. The national average is 56 percent.

Out of the 46 SC Senate seats, only 20 were contested. Nine were taken by new members (6 R, 3 D).

Of 124 House seats only 38 were contested. 20 new members (16 R, 4 D).

That’s 83 percent of the 170 seats held onto by incumbents.

The biggest impediment to having a choice in our general elections is the redistricting that was done following the 2000 Census. The Republicans and the Legislative Black Caucus worked out a plan that gave them “safe” districts, that means the winner of the party primary is assured election.

Check out the spread of Wal-Mart.

by Kim Gandy,

President, NOW

The current financial crisis is a feminist issue, and groups like NOW are working to ensure that the revitalization of our economy takes women into account. So, if I sound like I’m taking the successes and setbacks of the economic recovery package personally — well, I am.

In early reports, the recovery package seemed to focus on creating construction and physical infrastructure jobs (which, like it or not, are primarily done by men), even though women’s unemployment rate is nearly as high as men’s. NOW worked with our sister organizations, the Obama transition team, and House and Senate leaders, and–would you look at that!–the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes funds for rebuilding our human infrastructure, aimed at helping struggling families and generating jobs in education and health care that women are likely to fill. There are important safety net funds, increases in food stamps and unemployment compensation, tax credits for child care, and much more. Large-scale success for women — I had almost forgotten what that feels like!

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Hi to all my friends,

As you know, we donated Sean‘s organs and he saved the life of five people. I just signed up, and ask you to please join me to give the gift of life. It only takes a few minutes and it is considered a legal document, like a will, so your last wishes be carried out.

Remember, it is a hard decision for your loved ones to make and this way they will know for sure what your last wish is. Please join me and many others to be an organ donor, go to www.every11minutes.org and sign up.

Love,
Elke

The SC Progressive Network helped boost the numbers at this year’s King Day at the Dome, which attracted fewer people than in years past. We can assume that many of the folks that filled the State House grounds last year are in DC to witness an historic inauguration. 

Even here, we share the feeling of expectation and celebration. Braving the winter chill, these Network groups were in the crowd at the State House to remember the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Charleston CLC, Columbia CLC, AFL-CIO, SC Equality, Sean’s Last Wish, SC Pride, PFLAG, Carolina Peace Resource Center, Grimke Sisters and Columbia’s Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Thanks to everyone who turned out.

Network Treasurer James Carpenter

Cindy Rickards, Jenny Sample and Donna Dewitt

The Rev. Dr. Neal Jones, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Network Midlands Co-ordinator John Dawkins

John Converse and Michael Vandiver

Network Director Brett Bursey

For more photos, click here.

INSTITUTE INDEX
Compiled by the Institute for Southern Studies

• Size of the coal ash sludge pond that broke at TVA’s Kingston power plant on Dec. 22: 40 acres

• Estimated amount of coal ash sludge that spilled from the pond: 1.1 billion gallons

• Rank of the incident among U.S. environmental disasters in terms of waste spilled: 1

• Land covered by the sludge: 300 acres

• Depth of the sludge at its highest point: 6 feet

• Number of properties damaged: 42

• Factor by which arsenic levels found in samples taken two miles downstream from the spill exceeded safe drinking water limits: 30

• Days it took before authorities issued a notice advising residents not to touch the waste or drink water from affected wells and springs: 7

• Number of breaches in the same ash pond over the past six years: 2

• Tons of coal combustion waste produced each year by US coal plants: 129 million

• Rank of coal combustion waste among top waste streams in the US: 2

• Number of federal regulations governing coal combustion waste: 0

• Year EPA last considered regulating coal combustion waste: 2000

• According to EPA, number of times the risk of getting cancer from coal ash lagoons exceeds safety standards: 10,000

• Number of sites around the country that the EPA says have proven damage from coal ash: 24

• Number of US power plants dumping more coal waste into ponds then the one that failed at Kingston: 22

All sources on file with the Institute for Southern Studies; for more information, e-mail sue@southernstudies.org.