Community Common - OVRDC Tries Again For Broadband Funding

In March of 2009 the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission (OVRDC) along with the Southern Ohio Health Care Network, requested over $100 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to bring broadband technology to 32 Appalachian counties in southern and eastern Ohio. The request was denied in the first round of funding. OVRDC has partnered with Horizon Telephone Company of Chillicothe to apply again.

According to Connect Ohio, nearly 88,000 households in southeast Ohio, and more than 200,000 statewide, still don’t have a provider that offers affordable broadband service to their homes.

Connect Ohio has developed a new tool that will allow consumers in Ohio to find high speed internet providers around them. “This tool gives Ohio consumers the ability to quickly and easily find participating providers that offer high-speed Internet service to their homes,” said Bart Winegar, Connect Ohio’s new state operations manager for a 22-county region in southeast Ohio said in a released statement. “Broadband providers, Ohio municipalities, and economic development organizations will now be able to pinpoint exactly which areas should be targeted for broadband expansion.” The online application is now available on Connect Ohio’s website at www.connectohio.org...