6.1 Major findings

Most South Carolinians now have local-call Internet access (see Figure 6.1). In fact more than 90 percent of the state's residents can dial in to at least one Internet access provider from their homes without making a long-distance telephone call because of the increase in number of Internet access providers competing for a share of the South Carolina Market.

The number of commercial Internet access providers serving South Carolina has increased dramatically during the course of this study-from a handful in early 1995 to more than 60 today. About 60 percent of these companies are based in South Carolina, and most serve only one community or one part of the state. (An up-to-date directory of companies that provide Internet access in South Carolina can be found on SCIway Web at http://www.sciway.net/isp/.)

Population centers like Charleston, Columbia, Florence, and Greenville-Spartanburg are served by 10 or more Internet access providers, and monthly rates for 125 hours of access are as low as $12.

Most of the areas within South Carolina that do not yet have local-call Internet access are rural areas located in the central portion of the state. Many other rural areas have only one Internet access provider

Residents of rural areas often pay more for Internet access because there is less competition among providers in these areas.

An increasing number of South Carolinians have free Internet access through their employers or through schools and colleges they attend.

Today the primary barrier to home Internet access (other than lack of interest or knowledge) is the lack of a personal computer and modem-not monthly charges for Internet access. In fact these charges are considerably lower than even basic service cable television charges.

For at least the past year, Internet watchers have been predicting a "shake-out" in which large national Internet access providers (like AT&T and MCI) gain customers at the expense of smaller providers, many of whom are expected to go out of business. There are no signs that this consolidation process has begun in South Carolina.

Figure 6.1

Public libraries are ideal places to locate public access Internet stations because they are open longer hours than most other public facilities and because they are staffed by information professionals whose primary business is helping people find information.

6.2 Recommendations

2.1 Local government agencies-especially public library branches-should provide on-site SCIway stations (network or personal computers) that people who don't have network access at home or work can use to access SCIway and Internet information resources and services.

2.2 The State of South Carolina should establish a matching grant program that helps local governments provide SCIway stations in libraries and other public buildings. This program should be funded by annual legislative appropriations for three fiscal years, beginning with FY 1997-98. The grant matching percentage for poorer counties should be less than the percentage required for richer counties.

2.3 Government agencies, colleges and universities, and K-12 schools should seriously consider purchasing network computers (NCs) instead of personal computers (PCs). These new low-cost graphical workstations should enable public organizations to provide network access to more people while at the same time reducing many of the long-term support costs associated with today's PCs.