COLUMBUS—State Representative Rick Carfagna (R-Genoa Township) met with members of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO) on Friday to discuss House Bill 281, legislation he is sponsoring that deals with broadband expansion in Ohio. House Bill 281 would effectively combine efforts by government and private enterprise with the goal of expanding broadband connectivity to unserved households across Ohio.
Carfagna represents Knox County and a portion of Delaware County at the Statehouse in Columbus.
The bill targets the problem of “last-mile” connectivity to residences where it remains too expensive for private broadband providers to extend their services. This would impact both large areas unserved by broadband service, as well as smaller clusters of households within communities that are already served.
By incentivizing cooperative efforts across local, county and state levels to pool resources and reduce last-mile construction costs, the bill encourages these communities to utilize revenues that have been derived from infrastructure and reinvests them back into local infrastructural needs, such as improved broadband access.
At the meeting with the CCAO, Rep. Carfagna underscored the importance of working with local governments on this initiative.
“Too many Ohioans still lack access to broadband service because of where they reside and this legislation is aimed at providing a mechanism to help expand coverage,” said Carfagna. “Our county governments play a vital role in this legislation and I appreciate the opportunity to present my bill and gain input on ways to strengthen it as the legislative process continues.”
State Representative Rick Carfagna, addressing group on the right, meets with County Commissioners of Ohio to discuss broadband legislation – photo submitted
