(A)(1) "Government-owned communications service provider" means a state or local political subdivision, instrumentality of the State, person, or entity providing a communications service to the public for hire over a facility, operation, or system that is directly or indirectly owned by, operated by, or a financial benefit obtained by or derived from, an agency, instrumentality, or entity of the State or local government. "Government-owned communications service provider" does not include the State Department of Administration for services provided as of the effective date of this article.

(2) The term "government-owned communications service provider" does not include a state or local governmental entity, instrumentality, or agency that obtains or derives financial benefit solely from leasing or renting, to a person or entity, property that is not, in and of itself, a facility used to provide a communications service.

(B) "Communications service" means a telecommunications service, a broadband service, or both.

(C) "Telecommunications service" means a telecommunications service as defined in § 58-9-2200(1).

(D) "Broadband service" means a service that meets the definition of "broadband service" in § 58-9-10(17) and that has transmission speeds that are equal to or greater than the requirements for basic broadband tier 1 service as defined by the Federal Communications Commission for broadband data gathering and reporting. This definition does not modify or otherwise affect the definition of "broadband services" for the purposes of § 58-9-280(G).

(E) "Person" as defined in § 58-9-10(4) includes a "government-owned communications service provider".

(F) "Public" means the public generally or a limited portion of the public, including a person or corporation. The term "public" excludes governmental agencies or entities when they receive communications service from the State Department of Administration pursuant to its statutory authority or other legal requirements.

(G) "Unserved area" means:

(1) within a county that is identified as a persistent poverty county by the United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service pursuant to the most recent data from the Bureau of the Census, a nongovernment-owned communications service provider’s territory within a 2010 Census tract, as designated by the United States Census Bureau, in which at least seventy-five percent of households have either no access to broadband service or access to broadband service only from a satellite provider; and

(2) within any other county, a 2010 Census block, as designated by the United States Census Bureau, in which at least ninety percent of households have either no access to broadband service or access to broadband service only from a satellite provider.

For the purposes of this subsection, "household" has the same meaning as prescribed by the United States Census Bureau.

(H) "Commission" means the South Carolina Public Service Commission.