South Carolina Weighs State-Wide Wireless Access in Broadband Plans

The South Carolina Educational Broadband Service Commission is under pressure to develop an innovative solution for state-wide broadband access, but the clock is ticking. The seven-person commission is scheduled to hold its first meeting on September 22 - and will have only four months thereafter to submit its plan to the Federal Communications Commission for transitioning a unique band of radio frequencies from its educational broadcasting service to wireless broadband. The frequencies occupy the 2.5 Gigahertz (GHz) band of spectrum. This band is distinct from the much-talked-about 700 MHz band licensed to commercial broadcasters, and which is the subject of the transition to digital television scheduled to take place on February 19, 2009. These 2.5GHz frequencies are reserved for educational organizations and institutions, but South Carolina is the only state in the nation with state-wide control of frequencies. In South Carolina, the spectrum is used by state-owned broadcaster ETV. As ETV transitions to a more efficient digital broadcast by February 2009, a large portion of the 2.5 GHz band could be utilized by other broadcast technologies, including wireless broadband.