TCL to use grant for mobile computer lab

The Technical College of the Lowcountry's share of a $5.9 million federal grant to the S.C. Technical College System will pay for a mobile computer lab and other efforts to improve public access to computers and the Internet.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration is intended to make the Internet accessible to residents in the state's rural areas. It will be shared among the state's 16 technical colleges.

The state Technical College System outlines a three-pronged approach to spending the money and expanding broadband access in South Carolina:

• Create a statewide network of computer centers open to the public.

• Increase bandwidth and expand access for credit and continuing-education students.

• Launch a public awareness campaign and offer training.

TCL's portion, about $125,000, will be spent over two years and pay for 90 laptop computers, 16 printers and expansion of wireless Internet services, said TCL spokeswoman Leigh Copeland. The laptops will become mobile computer labs.

The money will be split among Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton and Hampton counties, she said.

TCL's Beaufort and New River campuses already house public computer centers, but the laptops will allow the college to bring the technology into areas where it is most needed, Copeland said.

The laptops can be used during off-campus training and continuing-education programs, Copeland said.

"It's helping put computers in the hands of people who would otherwise have limited or no access," she said.