The Athens NEWS :: Athens, Ohio's only locally-owned newspaper :: Federal stimulus award to bring broadband Internet to thousands

Thanks to a federal broadband stimulus award announced last Thursday, thousands of rural Athens Countians without broadband Internet service will have the opportunity to get it.

The award will expand high-speed Internet availability to some 11,232 households currently unserved or underserved by broadband, in Athens, Pickaway and Fairfield counties, according to a news release from Intelliwave, a wireless Internet service provider (WISP) based in Athens.

In the release, Tom Fritz, executive director of Connect Ohio, applauded the award. “This award illustrates the importance of the data collection and broadband mapping effort that Ohio has undertaken over the past two years as part of Gov. Strickland’s Connect Ohio initiative,” Fritz said...