High-speed Internet going rural

High-speed Internet going rural
Federal stimulus money will bring broadband to a number of unserved areas across Ohio
Thursday, May 13, 2010 2:52 AM
By Doug Caruso
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Federal stimulus money will help build broadband Internet access in five rural areas in Ohio covering about 18,000 households.

That includes a project that will string fiber-optic cable alongside electric lines in northern Delaware County and another to broadcast wireless Internet signals in areas that have no high-speed access near Pickerington, Ashville and Circleville.

Most of those homes are in areas that have been identified as having little or no high-speed Internet access in surveys by Connect Ohio, a partnership between the state and the telecommunications industry that mapped out Ohio's Internet needs.

So far, four small utility companies in Ohio have been approved to receive a total of $12.15 million in stimulus grants and loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service.

More money likely is on the way: The USDA received $2.5 billion in the stimulus bill to spend on rural Internet service.

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