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MOUNT VERNON — A Clinton Township resident asked about the status of internet access in the county’s rural areas.
“I continue to check with Spectrum; it’s still not available to me. I thought that the time line was 2 years,” she wrote.
The short answer is things are happening, albeit to those who need reliable, high-speed internet, it feels like at a snail’s pace. And, as a protection against competitors, internet providers are reluctant to provide specifics on their status in Knox County.
Internet access Round 1: $232M
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 2 into law in May 2021. The bill created the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant Program (ORBEG).
Running one mile of internet cable costs from $25,000 to $27,000. ORBEG aims to help internet providers cover the cost of bringing “last-mile” high-speed, reliable internet access to people in unserved or underserved areas.
After the Ohio Legislature passed HB2, BroadbandOhio and the Broadband Expansion Program Authority, under the Department of Development, began working on the initial round of ORBEG funding.
ORBEG released $232 million in March 2022 to 11 providers and 33 projects. Charter-Spectrum was one of the 11 providers, but its grant projects did not include Knox County.
However, Spectrum was awarded numerous addresses in Knox County as part of the challenge process.
Under the challenge process, an internet provider uses its money to bring internet to specific addresses. In return, no other company can receive grant funding to bring internet to the same locations.
In other words, companies already expanding with their own money can prevent other companies from receiving grants to compete with them.
However, another provider could use its own money to build to these addresses.
Spectrum has until the end of summer 2024 to bring high-speed internet to the addresses it was awarded. Due to the holidays, Spectrum could not tell Knox Pages by press time how far along its project is.
The list of addresses is below.
Internet access Round 2: $77.5M
BroadbandOhio released another $77.5 million in Round 2 of the program in October. Internet providers must submit their applications by Jan. 5.
The grants do not have a maximum limit. The company could apply for the entire amount needed to build the network.
However, BroadbandOhio will award grants based on scoring criteria. Criteria include cost, broadband speed, number of eligible addresses, and company experience.
Another criterion is local support: letters from county commissioners, township officials, or economic development officials.
Brightspeed and Mercury Broadband requested such a letter; the commissioners complied this month.
Other companies might apply for ORBEG money for projects in Knox County. Brightspeed and Mercury are the only two companies requesting county support as of press time.
Knox Pages could not reach Brightspeed for comment.
Township officials wishing to support Mercury can email a letter or resolution to Scott Clark, associate director of business development, at scott.clark@mercurybroadband.com.
“Whoever scores the highest points, those are the projects that will be awarded,” Clark explained.
Mercury Broadband
According to Clark, the Kansas-based Mercury Broadband is already working on building a fiber network in Ohio.
The company received a federal RDOF (Rural Digital Opportunity Fund) grant, which it combined with its money to bring a fiber network to Knox and surrounding counties.
Clark said Mercury has until the end of 2028 to build out the RDOF project.
“That is not what we want to do. What we would like to do is work on them more on the near term,” he said.
Mercury plans to apply for Round 2 ORBEG money to expand its network design to 1,900 additional addresses. Clark declined to provide addresses, roads, or townships involved, citing competitive confidential information.
However, he said it “should touch the vast majority of townships within the county.”
“What I can tell you is we are actively permitting in Knox County, so there is stuff going on. If we were to be awarded the state [ORBEG] grant, we would just fold it into the process,” Clark said.
Companies receiving Round 2 ORBEG money must complete their build by the end of 2026.
