Spectrum is helping make sure that families in rural northwest Ohio are connected to the world through increased broadband access. The company and elected officials talked about the projects at Cory-Rawson schools this morning. Spectrum is looking at a 9 billion dollar multi-year initiative to bring internet, phone, and TV access to areas across the United States that couldn't get it before. Some of the funding for their build-out is coming from the federal government and Ohio to help companies like Spectrum increase reliable internet access.
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August 21, 2024, Press Release from the Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine: (COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik today announced a state investment of $94.5 million that will provide affordable, high-speed internet access to more than 35,000 households across the state. As part of the second round of the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant (ORBEG) program, the Broadband Expansion Authority authorized BroadbandOhio to provide funding to two internet service providers, Time Warner Cable Midwest and Brightspeed, for six projects serving 23 counties. The program is designed to provide internet service with speeds of at least 100/100 Mbps to households upon project completion.
May 22, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Development: (COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik today announced the next cohort of an impactful program designed to help communities create localized broadband expansion plans. Five teams are participating in the third cohort of the BroadbandOhio Community Accelerator Program, which is a collaboration between the Department of Development’s BroadbandOhio office and Ohio State University Extension. Participants will receive support to help their communities prepare for funding opportunities at the state and federal levels by identifying broadband goals, understanding available funding options, targeting capital dollars to support implementation, and expanding workforce development.
May 17, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Development: (COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Ohio Department of Development's office of BroadbandOhio today announced another milestone in its continuing mission of providing high-speed internet access to all Ohioans. Ohio received nearly $800 million from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program last summer to expand internet access to Ohioans currently caught in the digital divide. As part of the process, BroadbandOhio is asking key stakeholders to help ensure Ohioans who lack connectivity are represented. From May 28, 2024, through June 17, 2024, internet service providers, local governments, and nonprofit organizations can submit challenges to the federal broadband map by identifying all eligible addresses in their communities. After the 21-day challenge window closes, a 21-day rebuttal phase to provide counter evidence to challenges will open July 1, 2024, and run until July 22, 2024. A final, 30-day determination phase will then run from July 23, 2024, to Aug. 21, 2024.
Last month, Gov. Mike DeWine announced his proposed budget for 2022 and 2023. Part of that budget was the Investing in Ohio Initiative, which plans to put $1 billion back into Ohio's economy.
Microsoft and an Ohio-based provider of telecommunications services have announced an agreement to extend broadband internet access to underserved rural areas of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois over the next three years. The deal announced Tuesday between Microsoft and Lima-based Watch Communications aims to make reliable high-speed internet available to another 815,000 people, including 288,000 in Ohio.
The DeWine-Husted administration is partnering with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to bring faster internet to Buckeyes in rural parts of the state. The DeWine team announced they are looking into opening o-dot-maintained state highways to broadband providers. Not only would it make it easier for those providers to get to the larger areas they serve, but the state is hoping it will also encourage them to bring access to under-served parts of the state and improve Ohio's economy.