Stimulus money provided for SC broadband expansion

The U.S. Commerce Department has announced that federal stimulus monies will help increase broadband Internet access in South Carolina. The state gets $5.9 million to expand Internet access at its 16 technical colleges. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke says The “Reach for Success” project will add more than 2,000 new computers to expand the capacity of 51 public computer centers and create 19 new computer labs.

“With all of this combined, they’re gonna be doubling the number of workstations to more than 3,200 — basically a workstation is a computer and a terminal and desk and so forth. And they’re gonna be able to accommodate more than double the number of users every week from 17,000 now to 38,000 users per week.”Sixth District Congressman James Clyburn says new figures show the loss of jobs is slowing down, and greater broadband Internet access can help continue that trend by helping South Carolinians have more opportunities for education and improving their job skills..."