(TNS) — More than 6,000 area homes will get broadband access as a result of a newly-announced investment of $17 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The grant will fund a Time Warner Cable expansion project that aims to bring fiber Internet of at least 100 megabits per second to 6,645 households in Montgomery, Butler, Preble, Logan and Auglaize counties. It’s not yet announced how many, or which, households in each county will gain broadband access.
The local expansion is one of six newly announced projects across the state totaling $94.5 million, all funded through federal dollars as part of the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant Program.
ORBEG is expected to bring broadband to more than 35,000 households across the state. The first round was funded with state dollars and this second round with federal funds.
“Having grown up in rural Ohio, I know firsthand how limited technology access can make people feel left behind when it comes to opportunities,” said Lt. Gov. Jon Husted in a news release. “We are changing that in Ohio.”
ORBEG, pushed by Husted and Gov. Mike DeWine, quickly put $232 million of state funds into broadband expansion throughout the state once it was established in 2022. That funding mostly went to other parts of the state, but brought broadband to 975 Clark County homes.
In addition to the round two projects announced by the state, 12 additional Internet service providers have reportedly told the state that they will independently fund 51 broadband expansion projects within two years, reaching 10,000 households across 25 counties. Details have not yet been made available.
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