Connecting the Community

June 12, 2011 (Lisbon, OH) – A stimulus-funded effort to expand high-speed Internet service in 34 rural Ohio counties would complement local efforts already under way to do the same in Columbiana County.

County Commissioner Penny Traina reported this week Chillicothe-based Horizon Telecom recently began construction to extend broadband Internet service to underserved areas in 34 Ohio counties that are designated as part of Appalachia, including this county.

ConnectOhio's 2008 consumer technology assessment determined only 43 percent of the households in Columbiana County have access to broadband service, compared to a statewide average of 55 percent.

Horizon will hang nearly 2,000 miles of fiber-optic line from existing utility poles and communication towers, starting in southern Ohio. The $95 million project is being funded with $66 million in federal stimulus money awarded Horizon, with the company paying the rest.

"Having this access will improve Internet connectivity to our residents and businesses, and by linking them will improve our economic growth," she said, adding broadband is as essential to attracting development as the availability of water and sewer service.

Traina is the current chairwoman of the Ohio Mideastern Governments Association, an organization that serves as a clearinghouse for federal funding available to the state's Appalachian counties. OMEGA supported efforts to secure stimulus funding for the project.

Read full article on The Review Online

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