§31-15C-2 Definitions.
§31-15C-2. Definitions.
(a) For the purposes of this article,
(1) "Broadband" or "broadband service" means any service providing advanced telecommunications capability with either a downstream data rate or upstream data rate of at least 200 kilobits per second, that does not require the end-user to dial up a connection that has the capacity to always be on, and for which the transmission speeds are based on regular available bandwidth rates, not sporadic or burstable rates, with a minimum downstream-to-upstream data ratio of 10:1 for services with a downstream data rate of up to five megabits per second, and with a minimum upstream data rate of 500 kilobits per second for services with a downstream data rate of five megabits per second or greater.
(2) "Broadband deployment project" means either (A) a project to provide broadband services to a type 2 and/or type 3 unserved area, as defined in section six of this article; or (B) a project to undertake activities to promote demand for broadband services and broadband applications.
(3) "Downstream data rate" means the transmission speed from the service provider source to the end-user.
(4) "Upstream data rate" means the transmission speed from the end-user to the service provider source.
(5) "Unserved area" means a community that has no access to broadband service.
(b) The definition of the term "broadband," the designation of areas that are "unserved", and the level of service required to qualify for funding of state programs and projects, are based on the Federal Communications Commission's current definition of broadband, which is stated in terms of the number of Kilobits (Kbps) per second, either upstream or downstream. It is the intention of the Legislature that the definition of broadband in this article and the level of service requirements for state funding be promptly updated by future Legislatures to conform with any revisions enacted by Congress or any rule or regulation promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission or other federal agencies involved with deploying and enhancing broadband services.