Roadway rights in Ohio’s plan for more high-speed internet

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — High-speed internet would spread to about 1 million unserved or underserved Ohioans
along rural routes and highways previously off-limits to private development under a strategic plan
released Thursday.
If approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the aggressive blueprint for expanding and improving
broadband access across the state also would give extra points to Ohio local governments’ applications
for related federal grants.
The improvements are vital because Ohio’s lack of connectivity is putting the state at a disadvantage,
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement. The strategic document comes as digital giants,
including Microsoft and Facebook, are working to solve a connectivity problem in rural, often poor areas
of the U.S. that has confounded policymakers for decades.
The Ohio plan emerged from a fact-finding effort by DeWine’s administration, which identified a number of
causes in September for the problem being so stubborn, particularly in Appalachia. Besides access to
roadway rights, it found outdated tax codes, missed funding opportunities, bureaucratic red tape and
maps that incorrectly showed where service is available.
InnovateOhio, the state’s technology office, upgraded Ohio’s Connected Nation broadband maps in
conjunction with Thursday’s release. By converting them into interactive GIS map layers, they’ll be
easier for journalists, researchers and legislators to explore, the office said.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who oversees InnovateOhio, said the plan is necessary to help Ohio compete for
federal resources that public-private partnerships can use to make needed improvements.
"The Ohio Broadband Strategy is a crucial step forward in our efforts to bridge the digital divide
and deliver high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved areas of this state," he said.

The plan also calls for establishing a telehealth pilot that would provide mental health services in
underserved areas of the state, including some hard hit by the opioid crisis, and a regulatory review of
the industry. It also would ask the General Assembly to create an internet grant program to support
connectivity improvements in low-population areas and rural communities.

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