A Republican legislator from Greenville since 1996, Loftis joined House Speaker Bobby Harrell and 53 other representatives in introducing the resolution to create the South Carolina Wireless Technology and Communications Commission. He described the vision in an interview with Computerworld.
Many regions and cities are creating wireless networks for public uses. What is the motivation in South Carolina? The No. 1 motivation is economic development. In South Carolina, we have a healthy business corridor, along Interstate 85, as well as a healthy economy on the coast with the tourist trade. However, in between I-85 and the coast, there are other large areas, and a lot of it is rural, that have lost textile manufacturing. One problem of the economic conditions there is a lack of infrastructure, and this concept provides them with a virtual infrastructure.
Is funding for the commission envisioned, assuming the idea is approved by the legislature and the governor? We do have some funding for expenses, probably up to US$500,000, which is far more than is needed and only on an if-needed basis.
Who would sit on the commission? It would have 13 members, with two members of the House, two from the Senate and two appointed by each body from the private sector, with one more from the private sector appointed by the governor. There is also the secretary of Commerce and the chairman of the South Carolina Educational Television Endowment. Two members are nonvoting members and advisory: the state CIO and the executive director of the Office of Regulatory Staff.
How would the network operate? We've looked at some models in other areas, including what is being considered in Rhode Island. The most promising is a public/private partnership. South Carolina already has the tower facilities to cover the state. The state also has licenses for 60 frequencies in the 800Mhz band. With rural broadband, we could have distance learning whether it is [kindergarten or the elderly]. The state would create contracts with the private sector by leveraging assets with the vendor or vendors. We hope to leverage the state assets to entice the private sector to put in transmitters.
What would be the network standard be? Many areas have Wi-Fi, but the industry is on the verge of WiMax, and Intel has a pre-WiMax. By the time we implemented this network, we'll probably see computers equipped to transmit with WiMax.
When is this envisioned? We could be running in '08.
Many carriers object to efforts by governments that want to build or operate wireless systems, saying it can cannibalize their business. I assume you have a powerful carrier lobby in South Carolina. We do, but we are not interested in putting the private sector at risk. Anyway, the government wouldn't stay on the cutting edge of technology on its own. After three years, you have to recycle many technologies, so that's not a smart move.
Would some of the service be free? If we can leverage state assets with private vendors to give one level of free service, they could offer others that cost. Today, carriers offer DSL to the home, with 1.5Mbit/sec., 3Mbit/sec. and 6Mbit/sec. service levels, with different costs. We are telling the carrier representatives to go back to your company and ask what needs to be offered to make this work. Is it online advertising, or the ability to charge for a higher speed to compensate for any free service? So, the state would be a landlord so to speak, with the private sector as the operator. We're looking for a win-win solution, and I'm hoping the private vendors go back to figure out a way.
A lot of the fact-finding has already occurred? We've already talked to Cisco, Intel, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Georgia and others and have pursued the idea of federal dollars.
An entire state on such a wireless broadband network is very ambitious, and some might think too ambitious, right? Well, the idea is coming. If you look at the industrial revolution and how much it transformed lives, well, we're in the technology revolution. Just think, three years ago, we didn't know what an iPod was, and now every young person has one or wants one. And that's just one example of how fast things are changing. It's just everywhere.