On March 18, Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced new broadband expansion projects that will make affordable, high-speed internet available to nearly 100,000 households in Ohio that currently don’t have access to reliable internet connectivity. The Broadband Expansion Authority authorized BroadbandOhio to award more than $232 million in grants to 11 internet service providers as part of the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant Program. The funding will be used to cover the “broadband funding gap” associated with 33 broadband expansion projects impacting 31 counties.
The 33 awards announced Friday will directly fund projects to bring affordable, high-speed internet access to more than 43,000 Ohio homes. As part of the grant challenge process, several providers also committed to independently fund 71 other broadband expansion projects serving approximately 52,000 households and impacting 31 additional counties.
In total, BroadbandOhio estimates that around 230,000 residents will have improved broadband availability thanks to the 104 new expansion projects. The average construction time for the new broadband projects is two years, with some areas expected to receive improved internet access in only 12 months.
At least 5 of the new projects will expand service in the Buckeye Hills region. During Monday’s BHRC Broadband Committee Meeting, BroadbandOhio Chief Peter Voderberg said address-level data and mapping of the projects would be available in the coming weeks after grant agreements are finalized with the winning service providers. Initial mapping released by BroadbandOhio shows that nearly all of the Buckeye Hills region will gain access to high-speed service from the new projects announced on March 18.