Ohio Tags $10M for Public-Funded Cleveland Broadband Network
Ohio will support a broadband network in Cleveland with $10 million from the state broadband office, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) said Tuesday. Cleveland-based nonprofit DigitalC plans to sell fixed wireless service for $18…
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monthly. The city in September approved $20 million through the American Rescue Plan Act for the project, which is estimated to cost $53 million. More funding will come from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, the David and Inez Myers Foundation and other sources, the governor’s office said. The plan is for DigitalC to break ground this month and connect all the city’s 170,000 households to the network by mid-2025, DeWine's office said. “We are committed to closing the digital divide in Ohio -- not just in rural parts of the state, but also right here in urban centers like Cleveland where affordability can be more of an obstacle than access,” said the governor. Husted added, “While many underserved communities are in rural Ohio, Cleveland is an example of an underserved urban community.” The National Digital Inclusion Alliance listed Cleveland as the worst connected large city in the U.S. in a 2019 report. DigitalC expects to provide minimum 100 Mbps symmetrical speeds using a next-generation fixed wireless access network, without data caps, a spokesperson said.