(Columbus)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted Friday 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.

This morning, 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.

“High-speed internet is no longer a luxury – it’s a critical necessity for everything from school to work to healthcare,” said Governor DeWine. “We must end the digital divide in our state, and by giving our rural and unserved areas access to affordable and reliable high-speed internet, we will enhance economic growth in these communities and bring about new opportunities for residents.”

The 33 awards announced today will directly fund projects to bring affordable, high-speed internet access to more than 43,000 Ohio homes. As part of the grant process, several providers also committed to independently fund 71 other broadband expansion projects serving approximately 52,000 households and impacting 31 additional counties.

Chillicothe Telephone Company
Counties Covered: Fayette
Award Amount: $24,072,000
Number of Households: 1,990Upon completion of the proposed project build, residents in Fayette County will have access to CTC service, with speeds of up to one gigabit download and one gigabit upload. Utilizing Fiber-to-thePremises (FTTP) technology, CTC is able to scale this project to support future growth to support consumer and data demands.

Spectrum
Counties Covered: Fayette
Award Amount: $657,641.00
Number of Households: 94
Upon completion of the proposed project build, residents in Fayette County will have access to Spectrum Internet Gig service, with speeds of up to one gigabit download and 500megabit upload. Utilizing Fiber-to the-Premises (FTTP) technology, Spectrum is able to scale this project to support future growth to support consumer and data demands.

Chillicothe Telephone Company
Counties Covered: Fayette, Highland, Ross
Award Amount: $5,991,025.00
Number of Households: 598
Upon completion of the proposed project build, residents in Fayette and Ross counties will have access to CTC service, with speeds of up to one gigabit download and one gigabit upload. Utilizing Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology, CTC is able to scale this project to support future growth to support consumer and data demands.

Spectrum
Counties Covered: Highland
Award Amount: $5,812,813.00
Number of Households: 1,232
Upon completion of the proposed project build, residents in Highland County will have access to Spectrum Internet Gig service, with speeds of up to one gigabit download and 500megabit upload. Utilizing Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology, Spectrum is able to scale this project to support future growth to support consumer and data demands.

Spectrum
Counties Covered: Pike
Award Amount: $1,555,191.00
Number of Households: 412
Upon completion of the proposed project build, residents in Pike County will have access to Spectrum Internet Gig service, with speeds of up to one gigabit download and 500megabit upload. Utilizing Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology, Spectrum is able to scale this project to support future growth to support consumer and data demands.