Co-op moves ahead on high-speed Internet in Morrow, Delaware counties | The Columbus Dispatch

An electric cooperative's plan to expand high-speed Internet in Morrow and Delaware counties is aiming higher than providing only faster Web surfing.

The broader goal is to bring new businesses and jobs to rural communities. Consolidated Electric Cooperative, based in Mount Gilead, won $2.4 million in federal stimulus dollars that will go toward increasing broadband access and building a fiber-optic network that eventually will connect Mansfield and Columbus.

An estimated 205,000 households across Ohio do not have access to high-speed Internet, said Dave Sweet, spokesman for Connect Ohio...